My local zoo is Greater Vancouver, even though I have not visited in well over a year and prefer a 5-hour roundtrip journey to the great Woodland Park in Seattle. Those that know me well on this site realize that I have adored zoos since I have been knee high to a grasshopper and I've visited 180 of them over the years so the headline I used does not represent my personal feelings towards animals in captivity. Greater Vancouver has come under fire for a 3rd giraffe death in less than a year, with the two previous autopsies not giving any reason for the deaths. There have been many infamous incidents over the years and the local Humane Society has attempted to convince the zoo to abandon the notion of maintaining exotics in the collection.
In the November 7th edition of the "Province" newspaper, read by over one million people each week, the editorial column's headline is "Zoos should be relegated to history". The article goes on to state that "zoos - prisons for animals - are no longer something we, as a species, should support." Ouch. There is yet again a push to send all of the non-North American animals away from the local zoo, although the facility has fought back by declaring that it has been unjustly tarnished. This is what happens with negative press regarding zoos, and it can be incredibly damaging to all zoos worldwide. The bad zoos need to be weeded out of existence so that the overall impression of zoos by the general public improves to an acceptable level. Greater Vancouver is far from a terrible zoo and some of the exhibits are actually rather large and impressive, but there needs to be a decision in regards to some species perhaps not being kept in the rainy, damp, chilly Canadian weather.
To top it all off there has been a string of detailed incidents over the years: 4 zebras dying in quick succession due to fright over the Cape buffalo placed in their enclosure in 2009; a golden eagle being used in a flight show being eaten by one of the lions as the bird stopped for a rest in the wrong location in 2008; a hawk landing on a young boy's head during a bird show in 2008; two hippos drowning in ice-covered ponds in the 1980's; the elephant saga in the 1990's with one African and one Asian pachyderm; multiple suspicious giraffe deaths between 2006-2012 (at least 4 deaths plus one of the females was pregnant); vandals breaking in and killing a spider monkey and stealing its mate in 2008; a baby hippo being kept in a rundown shed for 18 months until a suitable exhibit was constructed; a petting farm area that opened and then was quickly abandoned and now holds turkeys; and I'm sure that there are other issues that have slipped my mind over time.
In the November 7th edition of the "Province" newspaper, read by over one million people each week, the editorial column's headline is "Zoos should be relegated to history". The article goes on to state that "zoos - prisons for animals - are no longer something we, as a species, should support." Ouch. There is yet again a push to send all of the non-North American animals away from the local zoo, although the facility has fought back by declaring that it has been unjustly tarnished. This is what happens with negative press regarding zoos, and it can be incredibly damaging to all zoos worldwide. The bad zoos need to be weeded out of existence so that the overall impression of zoos by the general public improves to an acceptable level. Greater Vancouver is far from a terrible zoo and some of the exhibits are actually rather large and impressive, but there needs to be a decision in regards to some species perhaps not being kept in the rainy, damp, chilly Canadian weather.
To top it all off there has been a string of detailed incidents over the years: 4 zebras dying in quick succession due to fright over the Cape buffalo placed in their enclosure in 2009; a golden eagle being used in a flight show being eaten by one of the lions as the bird stopped for a rest in the wrong location in 2008; a hawk landing on a young boy's head during a bird show in 2008; two hippos drowning in ice-covered ponds in the 1980's; the elephant saga in the 1990's with one African and one Asian pachyderm; multiple suspicious giraffe deaths between 2006-2012 (at least 4 deaths plus one of the females was pregnant); vandals breaking in and killing a spider monkey and stealing its mate in 2008; a baby hippo being kept in a rundown shed for 18 months until a suitable exhibit was constructed; a petting farm area that opened and then was quickly abandoned and now holds turkeys; and I'm sure that there are other issues that have slipped my mind over time.
What are corn crib cages? are they a type of cage or a sponsored exhibit from corn crib what ever that is.
) The pair living in this enclosure has successfully bred many times.
