When I got home Friday, after the surprise of being let into the Lion House for the first opportunity to get to see the Cub, I had alerts for three different articles. Those articles noted that the Zoo had planned to open the Lion House on the weekend for two hours each day, so the public could view the live cam feed from the nest box, with the possibility of seeing the Cub in person.
When I read the articles, I didn't notice the wording (and havn't went back to re-read), but while I was there, many people came up to the Keepers on hand and asked about seeing the Cub, noting that the articles stated she woudl be visible. Keepers apologized for the Zoo information being misquoted. I wondered if I didn't get that sense because I already knew what the situation was.
Now, this article come out and it is not only curious, but as I lean more from curious to accusing, it makes me mad. You can read the full article at this link, but I have copy and pasted the part that bothers me the most. .. Note that this is by an Associated Press writer, John Marshall.
>>> "The enthusiasm was apparent Saturday, the first day of display, when the crowd gasped as the cub made her appearance. Zoo workers brought her back inside so that she would not be disturbed by the noise." <<<
So, apparently this writer was not there. So, where did he get this information? Was it fed to him by the Zoo? OR Did he just make this crap up? The Cub never made an appearance on Saturday. I stood there the whole two hours, I know this for a fact.
>>>"The cub needs to be used to the public, so we are not taking the cub out if its nest box if it's not quiet," said Abbie Tuller, a spokeswoman for the zoo.<<<
I don't know this spokesperson, but if this is truly her quote, she clearly knows as little about the Zoo as her predecessors. There is no way the Cub would be physically taken out of the nest box for the public to view. As much as I find fault with many of the Zoo Staff, I would guarantee this would never happen.
So, the point of this post? For the most part an outlet to vent. BUT, it still remains, what was the actual information this writer used to create this article? Was it made up or actual erroneous information from San Francisco Zoo Staff?
Note that the viewing of the Cub is such, that if the Cub is visible, it will be up to the Mother to bring her out. Visitors are allowed into the Lion House, for the opportunity at a CHANCE to see the Cub, not a guarantee. Visitors will be able to view the Cub in the nest box via live feed on a monitor.
Note that the viewing of the Cub is such, that if the Cub is visible, it will be up to the Mother to bring her out. Visitors are allowed into the Lion House, for the opportunity at a CHANCE to see the Cub, not a guarantee. Visitors will be able to view the Cub in the nest box via live feed on a monitor.
In my opinion, the zoo feeds info, even incorrectly just to get visitors. I believe the incorrect info was fed to the papers. It's not right to tease the public at the publics expense. To a lot of families, a trip to the zoo is expensive. If people made the trip while fed wrong info, that's just really bad. I never knew why the zoo feeds info to the press without checking facts. Thank goodness....Leanne is in control of when her cub is ready to be seen. I love you Leanne, take care of little Padang until you feel ready.
ReplyDelete@Lee- Thank you for your comment. Oh YES I do believe you are right. The Zoo has proven to say things in error both out of ignorance and selfishness. When I heard the Keepers apologetic for being misquoted, I immediately thought upper management probably told them to say that knowing that they fed the info that way purposely. But I'm biased to the dark side of how things are done there, having had them done to myself and seeing things for myself. ... I heard Leanne rarely even brings the Cub out for the Keepers to see. That said this is alot dif than when Barb was there. I wonder if Leanne even trusts some of the current Staff there.
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