Greater Vancouver Zoo There really is justice...!

[kc7gr]

I should have posted this earlier on, when I first got word back in late November.

Anyway... For those who have been keeping an eye on the GV Zoo, especially after their multiple screwups this last year, I'm pleased to announce that Justice has visited them, and its name was CAZA.

I have been informed by a trusted source that, largely in response to the raptor show incidents, several changes are being made. Among them are...

--Written policies detailing, in no uncertain terms, how raptor shows are to be conducted and what the rules for audience participation are.

--A minimum height of 4 feet to even be considered for audience participation, and the candidate has to be verified against one of those "You must be this tall..." signs.

--"Talon-proof" headgear will be provided to the participant, and wearing it is mandatory.

--The hawk responsible for the initial attack will be removed from public presentations, but will be kept on in a breeding program (and, knowing what I do of her personality, I think she'll make a terrific mom).

Although no mention was made of protective changes to the big-cat enclosures (as in preventing birds from entering such), I consider the current changes to be a very good start. I certainly plan to continue watching what happens, and it's likely that I'll make a trip back up in the spring or early summer to check on things.

Happy travels.

 

[Leptonyx]

I've seen a couple of bird of prey shows...and having worked at one...it'll be interesting to see if this affects other zoos. Im pretty sure similar operations definetely don't have the head gear requirement...but kudos to placing the hawk in the breeding program, and implementing a policy in writing

Personally, I'd like to see the bird show just moved somewhere else entirely in the zoo...it would be really sad to have something overhanging the lions...I'm a big fan of the "open exhibit" designs...

 

[kc7gr]

Effects probably localized

I've seen quite a few raptor shows myself. NONE of them have ever had any problems remotely like the GV zoo.

With that in mind, I expect the effects will be pretty much localized.

I think the need for bird-blocking mesh over the cat enclosures could be negated if the zoo's current "master falconer" would focus more on keeping his birds fit, and establishing a better relationship with them, than worrying about his ego. If Skye had been in true flying condition when she made that fateful landing, she would likely have been able to escape that lioness and would be alive today.

The Woodland Park zoo also has open (overhead) cat enclosures, but they've never lost a raptor to such even though they have had birds take off before (this is why you have telemetry).

Keep the peace(es).

 

[Leptonyx]

Yes....telemetry is amazing...and has saved us more than a couple times when our falcons have taken off .

I've never been to the Greater Vancouver Zoo/seen their raptor show so I really can't judge, but the show over there sounds no different than what we did in our raptor demos (free-flying eagles, using harris hawks with a volunteer). Likewise with Woodland Park Zoo I don't think we've ever had an episode...but that doesn't mean it COULDN'T happen..maybe we've just been lucky?

 

[kc7gr]

I think it's more the quality of training and care than any amount of luck. Have a good rapport with your birds, take good care of them, and the rest will follow.

Of course there's always a risk of SOMEthing happening. That's true of any live-animal demo. However, there's different levels of risk, and how well you know your own critters has a lot to do with mitigating such.

Example: You would probably not use a bird that's known to be aggressive in general for an interactive demo. I also doubt very much that you would ever tell any volunteer to pull a lure in after a bird had 'taken' it, let alone was still clutching it with no sign at all of letting go.

In short: I think the fact that you've had no incidents reflects rather well on the care and training the birds get.

Keep the peace(es).