The goal of my last post was to show Why I think The City, which would seemingly come down to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors, should consider the logical and moral path to Our Zoo thriving from this point on into the future. That path clearly shows The City must invest in Our Zoo's future for it to survive.
Below is a quote I didn't include in that last post, when noting the cost projections sought by Supervisor Myrna Melgar for three scenarios, City Managed Zoo ($109 mil), Zoo Closure ($45 mil), and New Non-Profit Operator ($42 mil).
"I don’t think we have a choice,” Melgar said. “People don’t realize these animals and this land belong to The City. If the Zoo operator no longer exists, it becomes our responsibility to feed the animals three times a day.”
That quote is important when talking about weighing the options. There is seemingly No option that doesn't cost The City a minimum of $40 million. In connection with the loan the City has stated in different ways, what seems to allude that the Zoo will need to gain financial independence. In my opinion it does not seem the Zoo can gain financial stability and sustainability on it's own anytime in the near future, and certainly not without a management fee increase at the very least. It will take years to be in that position, and what, the City expects that can happen with a shrinking collection of attraction species, and no enclosure upgrades?
In no way can I project exact costs for what in my opinion are Our Zoo's two most desperate Animal enclosure needs are, but my guess would be that both a new Lion enclosure, and Chimpanzee enclosure, could be done for half of that $40 million I noted above, and possibly through a Bond, as mentioned in my previous post.
Attention and Action to these two Needs would ensure that we keep Our Lions and Our Chimpanzees. It would also show Our Zoo and The City that bears it's name Cares, and is trying to make things at Our Zoo better, not worse. It would go a long way in the optimism of our Zoo-going public and staff, because right now, no one is happy that we are losing both those species.
Our Zoo is approaching it's Centennial in just over two years. It's already been a year since Our Zoo has been rid of it's infamous former CEO/Director. Two years will be here soon enough.
What Will Our Zoo Have To Celebrate In 2029 For It's 100th Year Anniversary?
If the chase for Pandas materializes, at this point, it will most likely be close to 2029. There will surely be epic fanfare and celebration.
At that time, Our Zoo should also be able to celebrate that they were able to Keep two species who were among the first Zoo Residents in it's hundred year history. To me, THAT seems like a goal to work towards.
So, Will The City choose to act now and invest in Our Zoo's future?
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In my previous post I highlighted Keeping Our Lions, but I also note the Need to Keep Our Chimpanzees too.
The reason I had been heavily documenting Our Lions was based on many thoughts. The announcement about Our Chimpanzees eviction came first. It also came at a time, and with factors that made me think there was not much more that could be done about the situation other than documenting my thoughts about this huge fail. I was at a point with Zoo bullshit and the exhaustion of it, that I didn't think I could do anything more. I felt shitty about it since I had fought hard for our senior long-timers who were faced with eviction ten years before. That effort paid off, and now with our seniors passed, our remaining Chimpanzees are now at risk. Our Zoo leadership and Board should be ashamed at this happening again.
Then, earlier this year came the audit results and those three scenarios. I was angry that there was even a scenario presented that included closing Our Zoo. As someone who has followed the mismanagement path of destruction, and has documented the fails and negligence of not only the former CEO/Director, but the Zoological Society Board, City tasked Oversight entity the Recreation and Park Dept and it's Commissioners, the lack of care for Our Zoo over the last eighteen years that I have had eye's on the situation, is shameful. My additional response to the anger of even the thought to close Our Zoo, when they are all complicit in it's downfall with their negligence, was, How dare they.
In the wake of the RecPark Commissioner's denial of Oversight responsibility, I now turned to Mayor Lurie and the Board of Supervisors, as the entities that can help Our Zoo reach its potential. The Mayor is the top City representative, and the BOS are the only City Officials that have stepped-in to provide any Oversight, in a seemingly genuine interest in what has happened to Our Zoo, and it's future.
That was some digress! Let's get back to our two anchor species in need.
So, two of our three remaining Chimpanzees then saw the female transfer out. After a year, the boys are still waiting for a new home to be identified. Then, news a Loan was floated to the Zoo, which painted a very grim picture for many reasons. A month later the Lion eviction news came. I was not shocked as I predicted this would happen. I never believed that displacing Our Lions from their home for Pandas, would result in Our Lions getting a new home built, even though that was promised. The Zoo quickly gave aging health needs as the reason for rehoming Our Lions, noting it was "...not feasible to upgrade for Lions". My interpretation of their use of "feasible" is directly related to having no funds to do so. That said, it is a fact that the male could present mobility issues that would make access to the moat a problem. Initially, I documented the injustice mostly because I feel the action of displacing a current residents for those that don't even live here to be unscrupulous. As the weeks keep on, so did my posts. Two months in, I became worried about what would happen if, like the Chimp boys, no new home is identified for them, and the health issue presents. What then? This could become a safety issue. I pray it doesn't, but who knows. I posted my anger and frustration at the lack of dedicated fundraising for Our Lions.
So, for that reason, I put their needs before the Chimps, as they have an appropriate enclosure at this time. Their plight and future here depends on an different scenario that's connected to Our Orangutans. The Zoo is still following the previous leader's playbook, that has the Orangutans moving into the Chimpanzee enclosures. Seven years ago, when the Orangutans arrived here there was no dedicated home for them. Two years in when our senior Chimps gave Zoo management the middle finger and kept on living, the Orangutans were tossed in the Chimps former home in Triple Grotto. Thirteen years ago the now seventy year old Triple Grotto site was deemed outdated and not fit for Chimpanzees, but that didn't stop it from becoming Our Orangutans home. So, now to give the Orangutans an appropriate home, Our Chimps have been served an eviction notice. That all said, when that possibly happens, the Triple Grotto site will be empty and remain that way indefinitely, as that redo will be a huge and costly project. That cost is another reason in mind when thinking of who should get a new home first. Now, all things considered, there is no first, both are in need now. If the City comes through with Funds, both builds need to happen simultaneously.
Obviously, none of my thoughts figure into what the Zoo is actually going to do, but because I care, I think about these things and how they could be remedied. That said, in this case, while thinking, the overwhelm and disgust crept back in and I decided I needed to take a break from Zoo stuff. It was a slow wean, and then I was triggered by the AntiZoo Zealots using Our Lions for donations. That renewed a fight in me. With both Our Lions and Chimpanzee boys still here, and with no new homes in sight, this bullshit needs to end.
Both species need new homes built on Zoo grounds. They need to stay here. I decided to be vocal about it. Roar as loud as I can. I feel I've done that to the extent I can right now. Maybe City Officials will wake-up, and realize that for Our Zoo to succeed into the future, they need to start now by investing in doing right by these four individuals, Our Lions, Jasiri & Lulu, and Our Chimpanzees, Qadeer & Nick.
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Blog Owner Note: This post turned into more than I had planned. It was literally a couple paragraphs, and then just a presentation of Zoo areas where a new enclosures could be built. I have all the photos queued-up, but this is already too long. I apologize for the rehash of info, and the length. I always try to make each post stand alone, and that's what happened once I started writing. It does help with posts like this, as I do send them to Official entities. If you've gotten this far, Thank you, and remember to look for the next post, which will be... If The Zoo Had Funds Pt Two - Where Should They Build A New Lion Enclosure?
> Previous Post:
Should The City Feel Some Obligation To Invest In Our Zoo? ...Invest In Our Lions?
https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2026/09/should-city-feel-some-obligation-to.html
> Related Posts: Use Search tool in upper left corner, keyword "Lions" , "Chimpanzees" , "Chimps" , "Pandas"
> Comments: Note that Anonymous Comments are accepted. I moderate all comments before publishing. If you are using this form for a non-publish correspondence, please note "Personal" on it. Thank you for your participation and/or feedback.
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"Personal Opinions and Facts presented publicly are Not against the law or any rules. ... Censorship and Retaliation Actions in an attempt at Suppression are frowned upon by Healthy Societies."
For Full Statement see this post:
https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2018/09/my-zoo-status.html
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I used to use (search) labels, but too often forget. I started noting "Hot Topic" in title, but fell lax on that. Now I'm just going to add labels, keywords, etc., here at the bottom with hashtags. Does it help in searches, who knows.
#SanFrancisco , #SanFranciscoZoo , #Zoos #SanFranciscoZoologicalSociety , #SanFranciscoZooCEODirectorCassandraCostello , #FormerSanFranciscoZooDirectorTanyaPeterson , #SanFranciscoRecreationAndParksDept , #FormerSanFranciscoMayorLondonBreed , #SanFranciscoMayorDanielLurie , #AssociationOfZoosAndAquariums , #AZA , #SpeciesSurvivalPlan , #SSP , #Animals , #Wildlife , #Nature , #AnimalWelfare , #AnimalCruelty , #AndeanBear , #KomodoDragon , #Chimpanzees , #PatasMonkey , #Fossa , #Orangutans , #Barriers , #PerimeterFence , #Pandas , #Bison , #Gorillas , #Lemurs , #Lions
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