They're still there. I saw them on Sunday. The aye-aye forest used to be visitable between eleven and three(?), but now they Only offer two tours, one at 2:30 & one at 3:00. It's still capped at fifteen people per group, and only offered Wednesday-Sunday.
San Francisco Zoo San Francisco Zoo News 2014
- Thread starter Falcosparverius
- Start date
They're still there. I saw them on Sunday. The aye-aye forest used to be visitable between eleven and three(?), but now they Only offer two tours, one at 2:30 & one at 3:00. It's still capped at fifteen people per group, and only offered Wednesday-Sunday.
You should definitely visit. The Lemur Forest is one of the few bright spots in otherwise moribund surroundings. Attention is needed elsewhere, but I am always glad that the zoo maintains the lemur* and savannah.
A lot of the signs and interpretative graphics need to be refreshed. They're greatly faded from exposure.
Chimpangeek said:
Not yet anyway. She was still there as of 10/5/14. A keeper confirmed that it was the same pair as always.
Kifaru Bwana said:
Well, I was browsing back to find a comment I made and I just noticed that I realized I missed out on a pretty lengthy exchange. Allow me to read through it and add to the dialogue.
re: seeing live animals at zoos.
Sometimes I don't know. It was a rather pleasant weekend last week, and while the zoo was crowded, huge swaths were nearly empty. Where were they? On that damnable playground. Or on the train.
Overheard at the zoo: Lions are really lazy. That's why they're so easy to kill.
I just realized the Female Siamang that was donated, was the one the Zoo tried to foster with their pair several years ago. She's been living at Louisville Zoo since then, so this was just a formal transfer of ownership.
I couldn;t agree more about the need for the Zoo to update it's signs.. THe Red-bellied & Red fronted brown Lemurs have been at the Zoo for more than a year and they still aren't listed as a displayed species on Exhibit.
The Zoo has several good sections other than the Lemur Forest and Savannah. I took an Australian friend of mine to the Zoo, and she was really impressed by the Australian Section... Grizzly Gulch and Puente Al Sur are both pretty decent (They now have Guanaco!). The Children's Zoo is considered one of the best in the country. Penguin Island, though old, is a pretty lively exhibit too. And they're already breaking ground on the revamped Rainforest building & adjoining outdoor habitat
A female greater kudu and male eastern mountain bongo were born recently, and the male giraffe is now on exhibit.
social-media
social-media
Oh Dear Sweet Baby Jesus, please stop naming the animals after professional athletes that won't even be here in a couple of years.
And the giraffe calf has been on exhibit for a while now, but separated from the rest of the herd. I suppose they mean that he's been allowed out into the exhibit.
It's so tragic, it's not even mentioned on the facebook page. She was insanely cute
This was certainly unexpected. It's a shame too. She was always energetic, and a lot of fun out in her yard.
SF Gate said:
Full article here.
Not the kind of publicity the zoo needs either.
wensleydale
Well-Known Member
Our garage door (and every other one in the neighborhood that opens mechanically I believe) has sensors that keep it from closing in the event that anything (be it a cardboard box or a human spine) is underneath it. Why didn't the door at the zoo have them?
I don't know the reason why they don't have that feature. But off the top of my head, could it be to allow the emergency separation of animals. If they know they just have to stick a hand under then couldn't they force it back up and continue a fight? Again that's just something that popped into my head.
wensleydale
Well-Known Member
Maybe they could modify the sensors to have the door just stop where it is rather than going all the way back up? Surely the door could be constructed so that a gorilla wouldn't be able to force it back up. Or with some kind of override function?
wensleydale
Well-Known Member
According to this article there was a manual shut off function, but obviously it was not used in time. They appear not to have any kind of sensors to keep the door from closing on an animal.
S.F. Zoo?s youngest gorilla fatally crushed by door - SFGate
S.F. Zoo?s youngest gorilla fatally crushed by door - SFGate
I don't know what the zoo has in the gorilla night house, but the only heavy hydraulic door I know of is the one that separates the outdoor exhibit from the indoors. It functions essentially like a bulk head door sealing in the animals and sealing out the elements (and if you've ever been in SF in late Fall along the Bay/Ocean, it isn't nice). It's this door I believe that crushed Kabibe. She (at the last moment) tried to dart back outside and was pinned between the door and the jamb.
Theoretically, it should move relatively slow given the weight and because it's (probably) driven by an electric motor. If that's the case, then any sensor might not have time to kick in given the aforementioned circumstances. It's a tragic and freak accident that wouldn't have changed given the available information.
That said, a redesign of the night house would go a long way towards ensuring that this never happens again. Briefly though, turn the space just inside the house into a foyer. The gorilla troop waits here, and are brought into the actual night quarters individually or however it is deemed fit. Once inside, the internal doors are shut and after a final sweep, the outer bulkhead door is shut.
(If anybody has a better idea of what the inside of the night house looks like, please let me know. I don't think I'm far off based on the chimp's night house.)
According to this article, zoo officials have brought Dr. Terry Maple in to investigate how and why Kabibe died.
While unrelated to the tragic event, note that the zoo recorded a profit of $1.1-million in 2013, and are sitting on cash reserves of $14-millions(!) bucks. I find that equally concerning.
Dr. Maple has completed(?) his investigation and has recommended that the zoo finally demo the holding enclosure and build something fully modern, a “cutting-edge solution that everyone in the zoo world would look at as the next wave.”
Interestingly enough, both of San Diego's parks still close all the doors in the gorilla habitats by hand. They don't even have automatic doors*.
Full article here: Investigator: S.F. Zoo enclosure where gorilla died is unsafe.
* -The night quarters in SF's lion house are all manually operated as well.
Glad to see Dr. Maple and I agreeing on the viability of the night house. Time to put some of those $14-million in cash reserves to work.
Interestingly enough, both of San Diego's parks still close all the doors in the gorilla habitats by hand. They don't even have automatic doors*.
SF Gate said:
Full article here: Investigator: S.F. Zoo enclosure where gorilla died is unsafe.
* -The night quarters in SF's lion house are all manually operated as well.
Glad to see Dr. Maple and I agreeing on the viability of the night house. Time to put some of those $14-million in cash reserves to work.
azcheetah2
Well-Known Member
Phoenix Zoo has manual gates for their lions and tigers, too.
It'll be interesting to see what changes come about, both at SF and other zoos that house gorillas, as a result of this. What I keep coming back to is the so-called written statement of the keeper where it says they "looked back" and saw that Kabibe was trapped under the door. Why wasn't the keeper watching the door? I'm not pointing fingers or anything, I just wonder, as I'm sure many are, how this happened?
It'll be interesting to see what changes come about, both at SF and other zoos that house gorillas, as a result of this. What I keep coming back to is the so-called written statement of the keeper where it says they "looked back" and saw that Kabibe was trapped under the door. Why wasn't the keeper watching the door? I'm not pointing fingers or anything, I just wonder, as I'm sure many are, how this happened?
Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
Realize that any business, and especialy a not-for-profit must keep a good cash reserve on hand to off set drops in income. In some cases it can be equal to a full year budget but in most cases it is smaller. It is a fiscally prudent move to protect the institution from failure. And should it fail, there would be costs to closing it down.
So this is not money sitting around needing to be spent necessarily.
You'd have to know the Board's financial policies to understand exactly what this represents
Is the director hiding something from the public?
Only On 7: I-Team questions San Francisco Zoo director about baby gorilla's death | abc7news.com
Only On 7: I-Team questions San Francisco Zoo director about baby gorilla's death | abc7news.com
Too right. An all to frequent omission and mistake by those not fully at home in financial matters.
@Falcosparverius, I also do think it is ill-advises and inopportune for a zoo director to lay blame when an investigation is not fully completed.
She should have stood up to the media and for her staff and she really should have gone on the record that it was a deplorable incident and that both management and a team of experts where investigating the matter and assisting authorities come up with a report shortly and would perhaps have recommendations forthcoming from the event.
The very fact that all zoo keepers - thank goodness they did - attest to - and thus contest the version given by the zoo director - the fact that they repeatedly asked senior management for improvements and a second set of eyes on the door system after an earlier incident and where repeatedly turned down, it is her responsibility first that is on the line.
In fact, for the keeper in question it was the worst night in her career and one that she will probably deplore for the rest of their life and for which she will pray it may never happen again! The fact that all her colleagues have stood up for her is testament that she is a keeper in good standing all around.
It migth well now be that the worst day for the zoo director Tanya Peterson may be around the corner as she has breached her staff's trust and has not dared to let a simple disciplinary investigation and follow-up routine to take its course.
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