Tig
Well-Known Member
It saddens me to report this, but I felt I should mention this so my fellow zoo people know what to expect. I'm on vacation with my sister and parents in Cape Cod. We visited the Zooquarium, a quaint little zoo behind a diner. The care given to these animals in this zoo is atrocious. Most of the Turtles, plus the Bearded Dragons, did not have UV/UVB light, which is a pretty basic care requirement and is necesarry for thee growth, digestion of food, and long-term health of the animals.
Strike one.
Several of their fish are sick, emaciated, or just generally look unhealthy. I observed a Sea Robin choking on what turned out being a Killifish, a small esturine fish that was being kept with it for some reason, as Sea Robins are highly predatory. The filter intake on this tank was caked in uneaten food and parts of dead fish.
Strike two.
Several of the fish tanks had filters, but that were not running. That means all the waste of the fish stays in the tank, and oxygen gets depleted very quickly.
Strike three, you're OUT.
But there's more... they have a Red Shouldered Hawk in a 10x6 plywood enclosure. The size isn't ideal, but there is only one perch in the whole enclosure. Otherwise the enclosure is bare. I didn't see any enrichment or even a water dish. They have a large tank, kept semi-exposed and outdoors, containing a Redtail Boa. The tank has no heat!! This is a cold-blooded rainforest animal, yet it is at the mercy of the weather... unbelievable.
Then we hit a Bird show. They started out displaying some rehabbed Seagulls that can't fly. They are dependant on the handlers for most things. They free roam in the show area. There's a huge pool of water for them. The only problem is, the water is completely opaque green and pretty rank... You'd think it hasn't been cleaned in about a year. Yet the Gulls swim in and drink it.
After all this, I decided to chill out by the touch pool. The only animal I saw was a small Horseshoe Crab. I picked it up carefully and brought it just under the surface of the pool. Then I smelled something funny. It was dead
Just figured I'd throw that out there. Not sure if there are any ZooChatters in the area that have ever been there.
Strike one.
Several of their fish are sick, emaciated, or just generally look unhealthy. I observed a Sea Robin choking on what turned out being a Killifish, a small esturine fish that was being kept with it for some reason, as Sea Robins are highly predatory. The filter intake on this tank was caked in uneaten food and parts of dead fish.
Strike two.
Several of the fish tanks had filters, but that were not running. That means all the waste of the fish stays in the tank, and oxygen gets depleted very quickly.
Strike three, you're OUT.
But there's more... they have a Red Shouldered Hawk in a 10x6 plywood enclosure. The size isn't ideal, but there is only one perch in the whole enclosure. Otherwise the enclosure is bare. I didn't see any enrichment or even a water dish. They have a large tank, kept semi-exposed and outdoors, containing a Redtail Boa. The tank has no heat!! This is a cold-blooded rainforest animal, yet it is at the mercy of the weather... unbelievable.
Then we hit a Bird show. They started out displaying some rehabbed Seagulls that can't fly. They are dependant on the handlers for most things. They free roam in the show area. There's a huge pool of water for them. The only problem is, the water is completely opaque green and pretty rank... You'd think it hasn't been cleaned in about a year. Yet the Gulls swim in and drink it.
After all this, I decided to chill out by the touch pool. The only animal I saw was a small Horseshoe Crab. I picked it up carefully and brought it just under the surface of the pool. Then I smelled something funny. It was dead
Just figured I'd throw that out there. Not sure if there are any ZooChatters in the area that have ever been there.
Is there any way you can have this place reported?