HOT TOPIC! - Top 10 Zoo FAILS of 2014

These are all Fails in regard to Animal Care.  The only bigger Fail is that the Zoo built new areas for both Humans and new Animals, before they successfully tended to the Animals currently living there.

These are only the issues that I can personally witness.

Chimps -  Obviously the lack of attention to their Home is at the top of my list every year.
Please read my recent post:
http://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2015/01/sfzoo-chimpanzees-need-some-love.html
There are also two immediately following this one, if you are inclined to learn more.

Female Black Rhino -  Still doesn't get oiled regularly.  They wait until she is chalky white and then often slop it on her, often getting it in her eyes, or they just don't do her face.  .. You can search my blog for many notations on this.  It has gotten better but still isn't the best it can be and certainly not in comparison to her Grandson Belozi.  You can see this photo from last week and from her shoulders forward she is getting chalky.

Black Swans - We had, yes had, two Black Swans.  Now one of the Sisters is alone.  The Zoo has screwed around with these poor girls for over two years.  First moving them to the Puente,  from a path they decided to close. Then moving them to the old Grey Seal Pool.  Then back to the Puente.  Then to the big lake where the White Pelicans live.  So much moving, sadly one ended up dying from related circumstances.  Now the surviving one is back at the Puente.  If the Zoo had left these poor girls alone and at the Puente the first time they moved them, both would still be alive.  The Zoo is more concerned about Geographical segregation than keeping the Animals in the best homes for them.   Yes, that is the reason they moved them out of the Puente so many times, because they didn't fit into that area in natures geography.  Ridiculous.

Falcor - Komodo Dragon's home has been void of any vegetation landscaping for over four months.  Read my post here:
http://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2015/01/komodo-dragon-lives-in-barren-dirt-pit.html

Lion House -  No Heat for Six Months!  This one is a two-fer, involving both the Cats and the holding area for the Tropical Building Animals.
My recent post:
http://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2015/01/heater-in-lion-house-out-for-six-months.html

Capybara - This poor little guy makes me want to cry.  Crackle is the newest Capybara.  A young male he came to the Zoo to be a companion for a female that has since passed.  They Rheas and Guanacos chase him, so he is always stuck cowering in this same spot.  At one time the Capybara used to spend the day in a side yard, yet that yard is now closed?  and poor Crackle has no choice but to seek refuge in this "creep" space.  He shouldn't be living in fear.

keeping an eye on the enemy

 hiding

Great Hornbill - Hercules is a huge Bird, he deserves a decent sized home.  He can never really fly as his wing-span is near the same size as the width of his home.
Lear more here:
http://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2013/09/homes-of-hornbills.html

Polar Bear Grotto B - It was my idea to expand the Polar Bear Grotto, but while taking cue from me on the idea, the Zoo failed in execution of the Meadow.  Building a dirt mound in the center, instead of a flat surface area, Ulu who loves the dirt, is constantly covered in it.  She loves it but the point is, with so much extra and unnecessary dirt, she is never able to get clean.  The entrance to her night quarters is through the "meadow", so even if she goes to the pool to wash off, she must walk through the dirt to get inside.  Then she touches her eyes and they are often caked with dirt and sometimes closed.  The Zoo needs to flatten that mountain and removed all that extra dirt.  If they were smart the meadow would have been in the opposite Grotto, but ,...

Sea Lions - The Sea Lion Pool was "renovated" early in 2014.  It was a big project, with the Sea Lions relocating to the old Grey Seal Pool.   One would think they would have done a good job, considering how long it took.  Yet, the paint on the whole bottom of the Pool began peeling and coming lose soon after it reopened.  Good Grief.  Couldn't they get people who knew what they were doing?  I'm sure the paint that has come loose isn't good for the Sea Lions.

Photo to come

Chickens - So, a box of Six Chickens was left in the Zoo Parking lot.  The story goes as such.  The box was fumbled and they all escaped, fleeing in flight into the Zoo.  After being spotted here and there, an attempt was made to catch them, but it failed.  SO, the Curator in charge allegedly said they didn't care and the Chickens were left to fend for themselves.  OMG!  Unbelievable, that a Curator would actually say/feel this, but hey its the SFZoo and why am I surprised.  As well, one of the Security Guards who I was talking to about this one I saw at Polar Bears said laughing, "oh well, if it flies into the Polar Bears and gets eaten <haha>"

A Different Kind of Barrier Breaching - Foreign Objects in Animal Enclosures

I have written several posts on Humans breaching barriers.  I've showed photos of Humans standing on and hanging over barriers.  The only thing to change at the San Francisco Zoo in relation to that is a few 5x8 signs telling people not to do either, posted at the Black Rhino.  

I have also posted that in this time in society, sadly a different approach to how (and why) barriers secure Animal enclosures should be taken.   My suggestions in past posts note that I'd like to see all the Animals behind glass barriers.  

My above suggestion is probably not the popular option, especially in a time when Zoo's and other Animal facilities are trying to make the enclosures Animals live in while in captivity as close to a natural habitat as possible.  That said, as noted above "this time in society", is such that the Human population  sadly can't behave themselves for Animals to be safe in open air enclosures.

I was the first person who missed the open air at Grotto's when the Human taunting of Tiger Tatiana got her killed and forced the Zoo to enclose the open air viewing with glass and mesh.  BUT it had to be done.  Public perception is this is to keep the Animals in.  Personally, I feel like its to keep the Humans out.

Sadly, five years after the Tiger attack, I have still seem Visitors taunt the Big Cats, with verbal heckling, banging on the glass, and even throwing stuff thru the mess and over the glass.  These actions aren't isolated to just the Big Cats.  This type of behavior and more happens at every Animal's home.

That said, even mesh is not a good barrier.   I have noted in posts over a couple years that I have seen foreign objects in Animal enclosures.  Countless times there has been different types of plastic bags in the Lemurs, small toys in the Puente, and other assorted choke size items.  

Last year alone, Henry the Seal and Niya the Snow Leopard both had surgery to remove foreign objects from their intestines.  ... Two weeks ago, food items were thrown into both the Gorillas and the Mandrills.  Last week, another food item went into the Gorillas and the following day when I was there,  Zura one of the female Gorillas was chewing on a pacifier!  After her Nneka took it and broke it to pieces and then Hasani the four year old took the smaller pieces and chewed on them.  

Broken record on repeat:

*Why are there no big signs telling people what not to do?  

*Why hasn't my suggestion of having a video of how to behave in the Zoo not been taken to fruition?

*Why doesn't Zoo Staff/Docents/Security stand at the Gate House and give a speech to Visitors about behaving?  They do this now for school groups, but the worst perpetrators are adults.  

*Why aren't there Docents assisting the Security in patroling the grounds AND watching what the Visitors are doing.

AND lastly, if the Zoo is so bent on patting themselves on the back for providing "Wellness" why aren't they being proactive in protecting the Animals?   When they hired their "Wellness" Guru, he suggested (which I did already) that a glass barrier go up at Gorillas, so people couldn't (hang over) and look down at them.  Curiously, only three of five viewing platforms is glassed in.   Half-assed I say.  I mean really,  It makes no sense.  BUT then again the barriers at Bears that were put in after an alleged escape attempt by one of the Polar Bears are downright ridiculous in their own right.  Two of three grottos have the barrier.  Again???

Yes it would be costly to glass in all the enclosures, but if the Zoo can spend 3.4 Million Dollars on a new playground, they can surely ask donors to help keep the Animals safe, considering the donors are supposed to "care" about the Zoo, which should equal caring about the Animals safety.  In addition it would cut down the constant flow of misbehavior.  Including fools who try to enter the enclosures and put the Animals lives at risk.

Yes, it would be cause for complaints from the public who want to see Animals open air, but those complaining would only be the ones who misbehave.  Those who actually care about Animals would get it.  Sure I don't like taking photos behind glass, but I care more about the Animals safety.

Additionally, there needs to be some at-a-glance (BIG lettered) signage at the Family Farm entrance, telling people not to bring in food, not to feed the animals anything but food they sell there, not to bring in any plastic bags to hold the food in or have hanging out of pockets/purses, not to sit on the animals, not to pull on their horns, not to chase the animals.  Good Grief I have recently and constantly seen people do all these things, which included an adult try to sit on a Dwarf Goat, put a Lollipop w/stick in a Goats mouth, and watch a Sheep throw up a plastic baggie.

Come on SFZoo get your Graphics Dept doing their job and making some decent sized signs displaying behavior rules bluntly.  Then work on enclosing the exhibits to protect the Animals.

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Contact the San Francisco Zoo Director Tanya Peterson

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tanyap@sfzoo.org

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