Ten Years Since Tatiana - Are the Zoo Animals Any Safer?

For years my Holiday routine included a Zoo Visit.  I have had a Membership most of my Adult life, but it wasn't until the following year that my passion for the place and its residents would escalate and I would learn more about the Animals as individuals and be endeared to each one.  That Christmas Day in 2007,  I visited the Zoo Animals, even though I didn't know their names, I was thankful to be in their presence.  

I had two places to go that day.  I debated which to do first and chose the Zoo.  When I got home at 5:30p, I would learn that the Tiger in this photo was Tatiana.  Taken at 2:48p, probably that last photo of her.  By 4p, another visitor had seen the three evil delinquents who caused her death, harassing the Lions and didn't say anything to them or notify Zoo Staff.  By 5p, Tatiana was dead.  I would forever know the name of a Tiger I would never really know.  Her companion Tony would become one of my best Zoo Friends.

RIP Tatiana  Bless You and Precious Tony.  Thank you for trying to protect him and your home from Evil Delinquent Bullies. 

Hard to believe its been Ten Years.

Every Holiday Season since 2007, the Media has dredged up the tragic events of that Christmas Day.  Every year I'm pissed about it.  I think they do it just to have a sensationalized story.   Unless there is a new reason, there is no reason to keep bringing it up. So, as someone who hates when this story resurfaces, why am I bringing it up?  Its been ten years.  In my opinion not much has changed to keep the Animals who live at the Zoo, safe in their home.  Why is that?

If you read my last post, then you will understand why I feel this way.  While the exact circumstances are not the same, a barrier was breached, by both Tatiana the Tiger, and the Delinquints who led her to her death.  

It seems the media continues to focus on the height of the wall, which may or may not have played a part, but was not in violation of any guideline.  I had never participated in comment banter before this, but spent many nights up late reading every sfgate comment on every article and responding to many in the Zoo's defense.  All I knew is, if that exhibit had re-opened the next day, I would feel safe in front of it.  I figured the Zoo had been open almost 80 years and a Tiger had never escaped before, there couldn't be an issue with containment.  I thought that Tatiana gained super strength from rage toward her tormentors, and was able to use their legs as a ladder to exit the enclosure.  That said, in recent years I have learned from different sources that Zoo Management has allegedly known for over forty years, that the Big Cats could get out and as far back Visitors had reported seeing a Tiger's head peek out of the bushes that lined the top of the enclosure.  So many years ago, those instances didn't involve Tatiana.  In the summer of 2007, one person relayed that she heard rustling in the bushes and saw a Tiger's head pop up for a second.  That may or may not have been Tatiana, but it was one of the Zoos Tigers, showing that they could get out if they wanted to.  Even a Keeper said a Tiger could easily jump out.  So, in hindsight, not so sure I'd go and stand in front of that same enclosure.  

The point is, that even though entry to the enclosure was not the catalyst for that tragedy, unsecured barriers played a part.  All those years went by with different administrations coming and going and not one ever thought to put more secure barriers on exhibits that held Animals that could jump.  Just like today, people hang their kids over barriers, but I guess not until one falls in will the Zoo add a deterrent to prevent such a thing.  I pray all the time that never happens and the Animals stay safe. 

Even though I now know, an escape is possible, I had never felt and don't currently feel an Animal could get out.  My concern is that a Visitor could get in, most likely accidentally.  

I also want to say something about misbehavior.  I've written endlessly on this as well, but the barrier breaching is just part of bad behavior that is allowed at the Zoo.  Too many instances that parallel what happened to Tatiana, still going on today and the Zoo doesn't even give these offenders a reprimand.  One incident in which Visitors threw rocks at one of the Tigers who was sleeping, because they wanted it to get up.  You would think that person should have been thrown out, not only because of the action, but because of the direct reflection to the Tatiana tragedy.  Nope.  Zoo Management allowed those offenders to continue on with their day at the Zoo. Outrageous.

The way Visitors behave, breaching barriers, throwing things in enclosures, heckling the Animals, Howling at the Wolves, banging on windows, pounding their chests at the Gorillas, its all disgusting., harassment and bullying of the Animals in their home.  The Zoo Staff most often says nothing to these people, in fact they barely notice.  I've had Zoo Staff stand right next to me while people hang their kids over the barrier.  Security zoom by on their bikes with blinders on.  And if you do call in something, offenders are never ejected.  In fact I've witnessed Security and Management when they do talk to offenders and often they are so causal about it, I see them laughing.  Personally I don't think putting the Animals in danger or harassing them is funny.  I've stopped doing that because its a waste of energy.

How many more years do we have to wait for these issues to be taken seriously?  

HOT TOPIC! - Barrier Abuse at Bear Cubs Continues - Why? ... Update.

Hope everyone is having a Wonderful Holiday.   I wanted to post this by yesterday but didn't get the chance.  I have a post done for today, but this one needed to be posted first.  So, I take a bit of time this Christmas morning to finish it up and post.  One of the best things I can do for the Holidays is to finish all the posts that I have in draft, a gift to my Animal Friends, who when I don't post, I feel I let I let down.  I have long felt and it seems to be accurate, that I am one of the only ones, if not the only one, outside the walls, that is a voice for the Animals.  I'm not saying that to be pompous, but its the truth.  This blog is the only place you are going to hear about Zoo issues.  Its been a weight on me, six years now, but I do it for the Animals.  I don't want to, I don't like to, it often makes me physically sick, but my passion for their well being forces me to.  Anyone who thinks I have another agenda, doesn't know me and more important doesn't care about the Animals.

So, unfortunately I've had to write too many posts already on the subject of Barrier Abuse.  More than a few about the enclosure at Bears that was once home to the Andean Bears, then Polar Bear, and now Black Bear Cubs.  The barrier at this enclosure has been an issue point as long as I can remember.  Let me bring up the incident at Grizzly Bears in 2009.  This same type barrier, that runs along both Bear grotto enclosures, was breached by a man who entered the exhibit.  The end result was the Zoo's Target Team pointing rifle's after the Bears with shoot to kill orders if either of the Bears made aggressive moves toward the man.  Thankfully our Bears knew better and went to their night quarters when called.  They could have easily lost their lives.  That would have been on the Zoo for not having secure barriers or proper staffing monitoring the enclosures that are vulnerable.  

Hopefully I don't repeat myself too much from what I've written in previous posts, but I do also like to have each post as a stand alone, so sometimes its unavoidable.  That said, let me lay out the situation very siimple.  There are two ways someone can end up in an Animal enclosure, Voluntarily or Accidentially.  Both ways result in the Animals vulnerable to losing their lives for reacting naturally to a foreign object in their home.  Guns will come out, and Animals will be shot.

Someone entering an enclosure Voluntarily is something that happens rarely.  Unless enclosures are enclosed in glass, they are not going to prevent these situations, perpetrated by sinister minds.  We'd all like to see open air exhibits, but the truth is, these days, its a gamble each day whether the Animals will be safe.  In my opinion if you put Human lives above Animals, and that's the priority in the Zoo world, then all Code Red Animals should have fool proof barriers. ... Someone entering an enclosure Accidentally is something that happens multiple times a day.  These accidents are preventable with simple deterrents both ON the barriers, in signage, with verbal instruction by staff, and with serious reprimands (ejections).  Each one of these deterrents are not being put forth at the San Francisco Zoo.  ... The SFZoo will never glass in all Code Red exhibits, to prevent voluntary entry, but at the very least they can do something about preventing accidental entry.

In recent years, for varied catalysts, some physical improvements to barriers have been made.  The Anteater and Bobcat barriers finally got a jagged bamboo addition to prevent people from themselves or more often their kids, standing on or sitting hanging over the barriers.  This as simple as it is, I think is the best alternative to glassing in the enclosures, that I've seen so far.  I started blogging about the Anteater barrier issue years before they put this in.  Only when their AZA accreditation inspection was impending was something done.  ... I blogged about the breachable points of entry at Chimps years before anything there was done.  Only after a kid fell into the Gorilla enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo, that resulted in the death of their Gorilla Harambe was anything done at our Zoo.  Barriers at Chimps and Gorillas were reinforced and extended, apparently to avoid any copy cat type situations? There were some points to fix, but they were not the most vulnerable.  ... Next up the most recent barrier addition has been to the Asian Rhino.  A ridiculous metal strip was added to the barrier railing to prevent? people from sitting on it.  It was flat and posed no discomfort, so did absolutely nothing.  Now, there's not really an accidental entry threat, so adding the same type of barrier as at Anteater would have been the better option.  Curiously, they recently added an eye-sore barrier that I can't figure out and is frankly seemingly ridiculous as well.  Huge poles with metal wiring across it.  People still stand and sit on the barrier.  It looks bad and the same achievement could have been met with the jagged bamboo. ... A metal addition was also put at Hippo, that again did nothing to deter.  Hippo is a major hot spot for people hanging their kids over barriers, but at least there is a secondary barrier, to keep the Hippo in.  That doesn't mean its not a vulnerable spot, but it would take a bit of extra effort and rolling on a kids part to make it in, but it could definitely happen! The neighboring Black Rhino is another story.  I've endless posted photos about the barrier abuse there and nothing has been done.  There is no secondary barrier, if a kid falls over, one bounce and they are in the enclosure.  The same type of barrier is at Bears.

Anteater

New at Asian Rhino

Ugh

Constant calling attention to the barriers at Hippo, Black Rhino, and Bears, has done nothing.  Why is that?  The Zoo Management reads this blog.  Are they resistant to do anything because its me pointing these things out?  Selfish. OR  Do they really think that there is no threat to their Animals?  Stupid.  This is a real problem.

This past year I started tweeting photos of people over barriers as I saw them, both to the Zoo and to the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums).  I stopped for a bit after no response, and when I started up again, the AZA responded and requested I contact the accreditation department with concerns.  I played by doing so, but knew nothing would come of it, because I have contacted the AZA on two other occasions and nothing happened.  First time was when the Zoo did nothing to provide the Andean Bears with comfort, keeping them living on concrete exclusively and literally letting them pound their bones to death.  I called out the Zoo on this, alerted AZA, and wrote letters to Board Members, Donors, and the City Rec and Park.  There was no response to me or the issue. Wishbone the Andean Bear died from injuries to his bones that prevented him from being able to walk.  He died with no other medical issues and full mental capacity.  Euthanized because he couldn't walk. The Zoo's neglect to provide this Soul with a proper living environment, killed him.  ... I contacted the AZA with a long list of issue points they should check out during their Accreditation Inspection.  None of those things has since been attended to.  Its been two years this Fall.  The Chimps still live with lead paint peeling off their house.  I understand if a full paint job while they are still in that enclosure is not possible because of the toxic mess it would cause, but painting over those peeling spots to seal them at the very least should happen.  I have seen the Chimps reach at peeling spots, put their fingers in it and then in their mouths.   

So, you can see why its understandable that I don't have any faith in the AZA when it comes to pushing for necessary improvements.  I don't think they do anything that would really threaten any revenue they may get from a Zoo.   That said, I did contact the AZA as they requested, they responded to the barrier information that I sent them, which was basically a letter pointing out that I've contacted them in the past, ect. and including links to blog posts with photos of the abuse.  They said they would look into it and contact the Zoo if they thought there was an issue that didn't fall within AZA enclosure guidelines.  They included the guideline document.  I intended to read it, but never got to it.  Frankly, I don't think its on me to read through a document to see what's acceptable.  I'm not blind or stupid, I can see that people hanging kids over barriers is not right and that it puts the Animals in danger of losing their lives.  As I write this I guarentee there is someone hanging their kid over the barrier at Bear Cubs and the AZA and all non-Animal Staff at the SFZoo don't give a crap whether they fall in and our Cubs get killed while they retreive the kid.  Well, I care.  

I also know that the Keepers who care for these Animals care.  I think we are all curious why this is such an obstacle to get rectified.  Any Keeper (in any Zoo) that has insight to this, please comment.  Remember you can chose to comment Anonymously.

So, what's the point of this post?  I wanted to update on the correspondence with AZA and I also feel its necessary to keep this issue relevant, until something is done.  This barrier needs at the very least the same jagged bamboo addition that was put at Anteater.  This barrier must be made impossible for someone to stand on, sit on or hang over.  This must be done sooner than later.  

So I am again calling out the San Francisco Zoo to make the barriers not only at Bears, but at Black Rhino and Hippo, safe for the Animals and the kids who are put on barriers by their self-entitled parents.  

I am also sending this to the AZA and calling them out, as an authoritive leader of North American Zoos to make barriers in all Zoos impossible for people to stand on, sit on, or hang over, with a solid barrier at least waist high, so no kid can crawl through (Harambe) specifically at Code Red Animal enclosures.  If this was in place already, so many Zoo Animals in AZA Zoos who have lost their lives needlessly would still be alive.

If anyone wants to be a voice, 

you are welcome to do so 

by using the contact links below.  

Thank you.

San Francisco Zoo Director Tanya Peterson

tanyap@sfzoo.org

San Francisco Recreation and Park

 recpark.commission@sfgov.org

AZA

azaaccreditation@aza.org

Toddler Falls into Enclosure at Arkansas Zoo - News could one day read "at SFZoo

Not a new way to start a post, but I apologize for not keeping up here.  I have all the post ideas and info swirling in my head, just no time or energy to follow through.  That said, I'm interrupting my ideal post flow because yet another story is in the News about someone breaching a barrier at an Animal Enclosure at a Zoo. 

Report notes that a Child "fell" into the Jaguar Enclosure.  Its reported that as his Father was leaning over to take a photo, the Grandfather was holding the kid "perched on the railing."  < THIS,  I see multiple times, every Zoo visit.   

http://www.abc15.com/news/national/child-survives-fall-into-jaguar-exhibit-at-arkansas-zoo

If you have read much of what I post, you know one of my main issues with the San Francisco Zoo is barrier breaching.  As I walk around the Zoo, I continually see this as an issue and the Zoo continually seems to not want to do anything about it. 

I don't know what drives people to think its ok to, stand on, lean over, hang over, or in some cases completely cross to the Animal side.  Is it Stupidity or Sinister, or both?  In any case, you have to ask, What the F is wrong with People?

I admit I am not a Humanitarian and flame away I do not care if a Human gets attacked or worse by an Animal.  What I do care about is, Animals losing their lives because of such actions, even ones that happen accidentally because of lack of brain cells.

Thankfully, these Animals at Little Rock Zoo, did not lose their Life.  That is not always the case, and definitely in San Francisco it would be a different story.  SFZoo has now even hired armed ex-Military Security who carry guns and are allegedly authorized to shoot any Animal that appears to be a  threat to any Human.

As I said I have posted endlessly about this, with photos, which I still try to take every chance I get.  I had a New Years 2014 post that called the Zoo to action with yet another suggestion to deter this behavior.  Unfortunately, it was one of the ones I haven't gotten to yet.  Shouldn't matter because our Zoo and other Zoo's should be able to think of more to do to protect the Animals.  You can't safeguard from everything, but you can do your best AND put the Animals in your care first, which is something not many facilities tend to do, putting Humans first because that's what we are conditioned as a Society is the right thing.  That is Bullshit in these types of circumstances. 

Of course the most famous in our time happened at our Zoo in 2007.  We all know the story of Tatiana, I won't go over that again.  As well, our Zoo didn't learn about Security and a breach happened again in 2009.  Thankfully, our Grizzly Girls didn't care about the guy who made it into their home.  If they had, rifles were aimed to kill them.  In my opinion, this is not acceptable.  Tatiana lost her life because of documented Criminals.

A side note on the Tatiana event, that was not the first time in Zoo History this has happened.  I recently was at the Library doing some research on the Zoo and came across an article about a similar event in 1968.  If changes had been made then, Tatiana would still be alive.

 Front Page of Chronicle 1968

Text close-up

Story continued

I personally think all Animals should be behind glass for their own safety.  This is not a popular thing among photographers that I know, and I myself, love getting great photos of the Zoo Friends, but Priority over that for me, is their safety.  Open air/natural exhibits became sought after by Zoo's more and more in the past 15-ish years.  That would be great, if the direction of Human Compassion and Smarts was on the rise , instead of the decline.  Exhibit barriers need to keep up with the times and I don't mean ideal times, I mean practical times, in light of current Human behavior.

A couple years ago I posted about an incident at the Pittsburgh Zoo in which a Mother dropped her Toddler into the Wild Dog enclosure. Both the kid and the Animal lost their life.   A few weeks later ( I think it was) I was at our Rhinos and a Mother was dangling her Infant over the barrier, entirely into the enclosure calling, "Hey Rhino!" She only stopped when her Husband alerted her her I was taking photos.

Pretty much says it all doesn't it?  ... This news story could one day read, ... "at San Francisco Zoo."