Las Vegas Zoo (Closed) Zoo Closes As Staff Quit

I just looked at the photos in the gallery.:eek: Now, I can see how in 2013 a zoo in, say, Moldova or Cambodia might struggle to update its facilities. But I just don't understand how this place has been allowed to function.

What are "USDA minimum standards" and why should the zoo being privately owned make any difference to the welfare standards required?
 
I visited the zoo once in early 1997 and that was one time too many. It was an awful place and the best thing that can happen here is for them to permanently close. Hopefully the animals will be immediately transferred somewhere. There is an exotic animal refuge that started in Las Vegas and is now just across the border in NW Arizona and I would not be surprised if they took some of the animals. (This is purely speculation on my part).
 
It's a shame that this place now has the last Barbary Macaques, especially when they're kept in such conditions! I hope they, along with all the animals here, find a much better home and this place closes completely.

~Thylo:cool:
 
I've never been to or heard of this place before but it sounds horrible from your descriptions. I hope your right Arizona Docent and they end up at a good sanctuary.

ThylacineAlive Toronto Zoo still has 6 Barbary Apes. They are currently off display but thats only due to a reno to the zoos whole Eurasia section. They live in two groups of 3 in two good sized exhibits for so few animals. Males Rocky and Blue live with female Leah and they can maybe be seen as the zoomobile drives past their exhibit. While females ZsaZsa, Pink, and Shannon live in the other exhibit which is not visible. They will all be back on display next May when the Eurasian Wilds opens to the public. Likely they will stay in seperate exhibits. Maybe the Vegas ones will get lucky and be transferred to a good zoo where we might be inclined to send out six to join them (they have been schedualed to be phased out by natural attrition for quite some time here).
 
How has it taken this long? This is fabulous news! I HAVE been to this zoo (in 2006) and it dwells in the lower, sub-basement of my zoo rankings. Free-range chickens (I can only assume future zoo food?) had the run of grounds, following patrons in packs begging for food. Literal "herds" of mice would (sometimes) scurry from the floors of enclosures pillaging food dishes as visitors would approach. The whole scenario had the makings for the script of the film "Outbreak II."

My wife and I did have the opportunity to talk to two staff members while we were there and I have no doubt that had a genuine love for the creatures in their care. However, the conditions were deplorable and most animals appeared as if they were baking in the oppressive Vegas sun. I also left with the understanding that a lot of the man-hours put into the park were from court-appointed individuals directed to perform community service who had no animal-oriented backgrounds perhaps outside of their own personal pets.

I wish I could remember the source, but I swear a read something that, slightly before his untimely death, famed Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin had been in discussion with Vegas gazillionaire Steve Wynn to invest into what essentially would be the foundation of what would become a much-larger, more-modern, eventually AZA-accredited Las Vegas Zoo. What could have been...
 
wyldjaguar said:
I wish I could remember the source, but I swear a read something that, slightly before his untimely death, famed Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin had been in discussion with Vegas gazillionaire Steve Wynn to invest into what essentially would be the foundation of what would become a much-larger, more-modern, eventually AZA-accredited Las Vegas Zoo. What could have been...
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There are still rumors occasionally that Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo wants to open a Vegas facility, but nothing concrete has happened, at least not publicly.

Australia Zoo bound for Vegas | Sunshine Coast Daily
 
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My guess is they wont end up in Toronto... at least not right way. It'll take time to get all the approvals to get them across the border, that is if Toronto even wants them. When Calgary Zoo was flooded Toronto didnt take in any of the displaced animals and thats for a fellow Canadian zoo. To be fair I dont know if they offered to take in anything or if an offer was rejected.

I dont know if the apes in anyway. The goal is to clear those exhibits for future redevelopment and total retheming of that area. Depending on their ages the zoo might not want to commit to another 10 or 20 years or more when the revamp is schedualled to happen in the next 5 or so years. In fact they might be happier to let another zoo take the Vegas ones and then build the troop by sending ours away.
 
After reading all the staff comments about the owner, the real question is how did he manage to run a zoo for so long? The fact that he is not even willing to speak to the media to give his side of the story says a lot I think. Like most of you, I am wondering where the animals went (although until we learn more I am sticking with my original guess posted earlier).
 
There is also this place in Las Vegas, but they do not have an official facility yet, so I doubt they are ready to start taking animals (maybe a few small ones, though). If you click on the news tab on their homepage, it says Clark County (the county Las Vegas is in) has approved their plans to start construction on a new zoo.
Las Vegas Exotic Animal Petting Zoo and Sanctuary
 
elefante said:
Maybe Vegas will get a real zoo soon! A person can dream right?
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I am not sure if the middle of the desert is a good place for a zoo. Unless perhaps they want to model themselves after the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, but I don't see that being commercial enough for Las Vegas.
 
TheOnlineZoo said:
I am not sure if the middle of the desert is a good place for a zoo. Unless perhaps they want to model themselves after the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, but I don't see that being commercial enough for Las Vegas.
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Tucson has two good zoos, Phoenix has two good zoos, Palm Desert has one good zoo. I guarantee the middle of the desert is a fine place for a zoo.
 
TheOnlineZoo said:
I am not sure if the middle of the desert is a good place for a zoo. Unless perhaps they want to model themselves after the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, but I don't see that being commercial enough for Las Vegas.
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There are plenty of animals that would do well in a zoo in the middle of the desert. Tucson, Phoenix, and Palm Springs all have zoos. You wouldn't want to keep forest animals like bears or jungle animals like tigers and gorillas, but giraffes and ostriches would do just fine as well as Saharan antelope like addax and Middle Eastern antelope like Arabian Oryx.
 
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