This post was in a "coming soon" post that I never got back to. So I'm bumping it up in a new post and for anyone who's following, the previous post will be re-titled, as it contains links to all the Chimp fun from the first day our Cobby, Minnie and Maggie came face-too-face with Visitors in the new Playroom. I'll link the old post at the end of this one, in case anyone missed it.
So, lots has happened with our new Chimp Friend Qadeer, since I posted about his arrival. A couple weeks ago, he gained access to the Dayroom, and last week, came face-to-face with his new Friends! I will make a couple separate posts to highlight those exciting adventures!
So yea, the Zoo felt it necessary to sell the rights to rename Qadeer. I knew this would happen. So predictable. I hate the renaming thing, and renaming a Great Ape who knows his name, just awful.
So in exchange of money, after 33 years Qadeer is now named Gombo. Sad.
From the Video in the Dayroom Visitor Gallery
Well, I at least hoped the person tried to give him a native related name, and not a celebrity or vanity name, but where I thought I initially read there was an African relation to the name, I have done some research and now find nothing other than its another name for Gumbo, the Creole food dish. So yea, Zoo allowed someone to rename Qadeer after food. I did find that Qadeer means Powerful and Capable. ... Maybe there was a mistake and they meant Gombe, which is relatable to a native region. But still, there it is in print, Gombo. Sad.
I've written alot on name changing. It's one of my biggest and long running issues. It just really bothers me. I may be alone in this, but I think its disrespectful. I understand it from a fundraising angle, but I wish the Zoo would be more creative and find other ways to raise money. Putting a sign up that says this Animals care has been sponsored by,... would be better and more prominent than changing a name. Aside from the disrespect, I think it messes the Animals up. I have heard that in more recent years than when I first start writing about it, the real names are being used by the Keepers. But, that hasn't always been true. For example, and I loved this girl, so my heart really broke for her in this regard. When the Zoo acquired female Siberian/Amur Tiger Shastyuh RIP, her Keeper at the time continued to use her real name, even though at ten yrs old she had been renamed Martha. When that Keeper left, remaining staff were forced to use Martha. I always use their really names. When I would talk to Shastyuh she knew. Once I was talking to her and I heard a Keeper from inside trying to call her in. Martha, Martha, Martha-Shastyuh, ... ridiculous. Shastyuh never went in and just sat there and stuck her tongue out lol! Glad it wasn't an emergency that they needed to call her in for. And our Leanne (Tiger), who used to be called her real name Skylar by that previous Keeper, exclusively became Leanne. She doesn't even look when you say Hi Sky anymore. Identity lost. And poor Tucker (Hippo), he's been renamed twice! Both times after ballplayers, using both first and last names. UG. Anyway those are just a few irritations. Also, before I stop with this, let's wonder what happens to Animals that then get transferred out. Thankfully our Bali RIP (Tiger) who SFZoo called George, was still under the care of the Keeper who used real names, because when he moved to another Zoo, they went back to calling him Bali. But, what happens with our Bronevik (Tiger) who just moved to Omaha. At 5 yrs old, he too knew his name but was renamed, JT. I don't know what Keepers called him, but I sure hope he retained his name of Bronevik and will hold on to it in Omaha. And last the biggest disrespect of all, hands down in Zoo history, poor Falcor RIP (Komodo Dragon) at two yrs old, he knew his name, yet was renamed Big Daddy Bahasa. Big Daddy, NO ANIMAL should be called Big Daddy anything. Just awful. And Bahasa, literally means the word language in Indonesian. So from Falcor, a nod to the Dragon in the classic movie The Never Ending Story, to Big Daddy Language. Seriously, at the very least the Zoo and his Keepers could have referred to him as Bahasa, but NO, everything was Big Daddy this, Big Daddy that. So Awful and Sad that poor Falcor had to hear that constantly, and literally on loop in the video outside his home. RIP My Friend, at least you don't have to hear that anymore. Heartbreaking.
I would suggest that if the Zoo is going to continue to sell off naming rights, some guidelines be attached to the privilege, like no celebrity names, no multiple names (first and last included), basically no joke names, BUT the Zoo itself changes names of Animals that don't even follow those guidelines, for example the male Black Howler Monkey. His name is Benjamin and was renamed by the Zoo, Robin Williams. Ridiculous. Why? Like ballplayer names, most likely for fleeting media attention. UG. Others come to mind, but I can't even.
I just want to make another notation about renaming Animals. Since this post is about a Chimpanzee, I'll make the example keeping with that, but it relate to any Animal.
I've written about my history with the Zoo before, but in short, after long life of visiting the Zoo, in 2008, my visits increased and I started to learn more about the Animals as individuals. In addition to talking with Keepers to learn their names and about their lives at the time, I did my own research with included, internet searches by name, genealogy using studbooks, reading every SFZoo related article in the sfgate archive and every Joint Zoo Committee Meeting Agenda and Minutes. I'm pretty thorough when researching something I'm passionate about and I had become so endeared to the Animals, that knowing about them was important.
For this example, I'm going to use our Chimpanzee Cobby. Cobby is the longest living Resident at the Zoo. Cobby came to the Zoo at ten years old, so he had a life before the SFZoo. SFZoo was the first and only home of our Maggie and Minnie. If Cobby's name had been changed, I would have never learned about his life before the Zoo. I would not have learned, after he was taken from the wild, he lived with a human family. He worked in entertainment. He had his own tv show. He ended up at the Zoo, when he aged out and his humans wanted to work with Elephants instead. I love this guy, and even though I didn't know his history til 2008, I've known him my whole life, and because of this time in my life when the universe has chosen the Zoo as one of my final passions, I know who Cobby is.
In my opinion, changing an Animals name robs them of their identity, and robs those who become endeared to them, the chance to learn more about them.
Old post is now titled "Chimps First Day in New Playroom! - Video Links" but blog url didn't change, so remains reflective of original title.
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