Maki - There's No Place Like Home!

I hadn't planned to write another post after Maki was safely home, but I thought I'd complete the series with the update that an arrest was made in Maki's kidnapping.  Most everyone should know by now, as it was a couple days ago.  Not many details have been released, I'm looking forward to hearing how this guy knew where to access the Lemur night quarters, if he had a connection at the Zoo, and what the motive was.  

I'm glad that I was online Thursday evening and following Maki's rescue and return to his caregivers, family and home.  Learning the news as it was coming in and documenting it in real-time was exciting.  No better feeling than to report wonderful news!

Aside from the obvious joy and relief that Maki was found safe, little James Trinh who spotted Maki outside his school, made me smile when he said, "Call The ZooKeeper!"  I'll never forget that line!

screencap from 

ABC7 news video

Praying Maki will recover from this traumatic experience with no lasting affects.  I was worried about Covid, and then hearing he was dehydrated, I worry about his Kidneys.   Seems like the kidnapper didn't give him any food or water.   My heart breaks for what he went through.  

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Blogger's Statement

"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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Last Bit Of Maki News For Tonight From ABC and NBC... Updated

Now that the News is doing a great job of reporting on Maki's return, I'll leave you all with that.  I'm sure there will be much more media attention to feed our souls with this wonderful close to an awful event.  You can check Twitter for stories, as "Maki" and "Daly City" are Trending in California!

It's been an emotional time and beyond thankful that Maki is safe and home.

I first read on ABC News that Maki was spotted by a five year old!  Bravo!  Thank you to little James Trinh and to his Dad for calling it in.  And to his Mom for the initial Tweet about Maki being found. This Family needs a free Membership!

Then NBC's Ian Cull took over on Twitter with first hand reports from the Family who spotted Maki.

"He says Maki wasn’t scared by the children, and was moving very slow. He was never threatening, and went calmly with animal control."

Glad that Keepers Lori and Kyle were there on scene with him. I'm sure Maki was happy to see them!  A great relief and ease of upset for everyone.

Update: Could not find the NBC interview, but this one was recently posted by ABC ... 

https://abc7news.com/pets-animals/rare-lemur-that-went-missing-from-sf-zoo-found-in-daly-city/7064304/

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Blogger's Statement

"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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Some Details About How Maki The Lemur Was Found

Curiously, or maybe not, there has still not been an update from the Zoo that Maki has been found. ... Would have liked to have seen a semi-immediate post, something like, .. Maki has been Found!  No further details at this time, but Thank You for all the concern and good thoughts. ... I don't understand why it's been over three hours since the first Twitter post by a member of the public and the Zoo has not updated the worried public.  Disappointing.

Thank you to the member of the public who saw him and called the sighting in.  And to all involved in bringing him home.  

Thank you DalyCityPD 

for the update!

Precious little guy, he looks scared. Glad he is safe.  DAMN whoever put him through this traumatic experience.  May Karma come down on you hard!

photo DalyCityPD

Thank you to SFPD for this link via a Twitter update.

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Blogger's Statement

"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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Breaking News! - Maki Is Home!!! - Stolen Lemur Found Safe!

Crying tears of joy and relief!

As the sun set I thought, another night Maki not with his family.  Continued saying prayers and sending live his way.

I searched for news updates. None from Zoo or SFPD.  Then searched both on Twitter.  That was the ticket!

Saw this six minutes after it was posted.

No other details available at this time.

So happy!  He looks good. Hope he is found to be healthy and no lasting effects of this traumatic event.

Hoping they catch the Demon who took him.  Won't say anything further.  Those who know me know what I'm thinking.

Welcome Home Maki!  Love You!

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Blogger's Statement

"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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Appeal To Whoever Stole Maki The Lemur - Read This!

I obviously don't know the motive behind this cruel crime, but I would bet the perpetrator does not know how to care for Lemurs.  I can only hope they care enough to keep him healthy and safe.

Was he taken to be a Pet?  To be sold into the Exotic Wildlife Trade?  Whatever the reason, caring for and feeding any Animal is an individual and delicate plan.  In Maki's case whoever has him, must know by now, he is of advanced age, which is even more concern that he is properly cared for.

Zoo's work close with Duke Lemur Center.  This page from their website refers to reasons why Lemurs do not make good Pets.  Below link I've copied some relevant text excerpts.

https://lemur.duke.edu/about/not-a-pet/

Lemurs are expensive

According to the American Kennel Club, keeping the average dog healthy and fulfilled will set you back $15,000 over a typical thirteen-year lifespan. By contrast, if cared for properly, prosimians in human care can live 25 years or more. Here at the Duke Lemur Center, the health and general welfare of one lemur can cost upwards of $200,000 over its lifespan—and we get to buy food in bulk.

Lemur vet care is hard to find

Think of how often dogs or cats get sick and are taken to the vet; lemurs are no different. Yet very few veterinary hospitals will treat primates because of the possibility of disease transmission to humans and risk of injury to staff. “Lemurs’ teeth are made for slashing,” says Cathy. “Lemurs are also strong, so they can be difficult to control.”

Recently a pet lemur owner requested help diagnosing toxoplasmosis (a parasitic infection) via the DLC Facebook page, because “all the vets I work with don’t do exotics.” Even among exotic animal veterinarians, many refuse to see primates; those who do often know very little about lemurs’ diseases or how to treat them.

Caring for lemurs is hard work every day

... Even providing a lemur with a proper daily diet is complicated. Owners occasionally contact us, already having purchased a pet lemur, with no idea what to feed it. In one case, the owners of a ring-tailed lemur named Milo were feeding him pizza and ice cream. In a reality television show filmed in eastern North Carolina, a lemur is shown eating a slice of bacon.

That pet lemurs tend to have serious nutritional problems from being fed inappropriate diets exacerbates the problem of limited access to qualified veterinary care. Unfortunately this can lead to privately-held pet lemurs developing a host of illnesses, including obesity and diabetes, and dying prematurely.

Please return Maki back to 

his Caregivers and Family.

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Blogger's Statement

"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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Praying For The Safe Return of Our Lemur Maki

I'm interrupting the flow of the sixteen posts I have in draft, to say a few things about the news out of the Zoo late yesterday.  It's national now, but this is the first article out yesterday.

screencap from

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Lemur-on-the-loose-Primate-reported-missing-from-15648458.php
 

I had not planned to write about this, as it is not the Mission of this blog, or my position to break sensitive news.

First thing yesterday, I saw Police on site.  Gathered near the Lemurs with Zoo Staff, I knew something was not right. ... I didn't know whether the Zoo was going to make a public statement about it, but since it has, I want to include it.

Once I knew what happened, I just felt incredible sadness.  This poor innocent Being, ripped from his home and family, into who knows what kind of situation.  Poor Maki must be so scared.  My heart breaks for him.  I worry for his family too, who probably wonder what happened to him, and themselves traumatized by an intruder. ... Then I felt so much anger for anyone who played a part in his disappearance.  For decades I have not been a fan of people, and that has grown increasingly over the years and has culminated during this time of Covid with the extreme level of self-entitled behavior I see everyday.  I'm sick of it.  

Why would someone do this?  Why don't people have empathy and think about how cruel an action like this is.  Immediate memories of when teenagers stole two Koalas in 2000, for their Girlfriends, and the disappearance of Banana Sam nine years ago, for reasons unknown.   For some reason this seems more sinister.  Maybe because of all the illegal Wildlife Trade that is in our face on social media everyday.  I hope I'm wrong and some kid realizes the danger he has put poor Maki in, and he is safely returned home. 

In addition to the question why, there's the how and the subsequent, who.  Unfortunately I always make the mistake of reading social media comments.  Far too many jokes about this on Twitter.  It really bothers me that people would think this is something to joke about.  Other comments included, "inside job".   * I don't know about that, or feel comfortable sharing my theory of possibility, but an obvious thought is that you have to look at anyone not on staff who has knowledge about how these Animals are housed. ...  I hope that the Zoo has decent camera coverage around the perimeter, as well as other key points and that the Police are accessing street cams.   I would think there has to be footage of trespassers gaining entrance to the Zoo.

There was also a comment blaming Keepers. I know these Keepers and they love the Animals in their care.  I know how I feel, and this has got to be beyond upsetting for them.  For anyone to suggest a Keeper would do this is, isn't thinking about why Keepers get into this profession.  Most Keepers, especially those working under stressful environments, like our Zoo is at times, only stay because of their love for their Animals.  

While I have just talked about Keepers, I want to suggest to the Zoo something that came to mind after reading the initial news article.  Staffer Jason Watters notes that in addition to Maki's advanced age, he needs a special diet.  I think it would be advantages to put out a statement of care, so until the person who took him comes to their senses and returns him, he can receive as close to decent care and diet as possible.  Consider doing a video, preferably made by a Keeper, talking about Maki, how much he means to them and his Lemur Family, noting do's and don'ts, including what not to feed him, and what could be found in our local markets that he can and should safely eat.  It could only do good in keeping him as well as possible until he gets back home. 

Hoping everyone who reads this sends good thoughts and prayers precious Maki's way, and that we hear good news soon.

Plea to whoever has him, please do the right thing and allow him to come back home to his caregivers and family.  Contact authorities and return him safely.   Thank you.

* Note: If you are reading this again after the original posting, you may notice that I made some changes to the wording.

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Blogger's Statement

"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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The Longest Night - Day Darkness at the Zoo - 9.9.20

The Day of Darkness was one of my reserved days.   As the morning went on, and no daylight appeared, I wasn't sure if the Zoo would even be open.   Glad it was.  It was pretty cool to be there for this possibly once in a lifetime event.  Unfortunate circumstances for this to occur, so hopefully Northern California never has wildfires this bad again, that would allow for a repeat performance. 

It had started to get a bit lighter about 9:30a, so when I arrived, it wasn't too dark, but just the heavy orange sky.  The dusk appearance made it felt like the old event, Member's Night.  I walked most of the grounds, to document how it looked and what the Animals were doing.  By 11a it started to get dark and by Noon it was like nighttime.  

The Animals looked a bit confused.  Of course I went to Chimps first, and for the first time I was able to see into the Dayroom from the path window with no glare!  They looked at me like, What are you doing here at night?  The Peccaries were the most curious.  All four lined up and stared at me, again like, What the heck?

These are my clips put together in three parts.  Some might be interesting, some might not.  A friend who watched part one, said it was, "Fascinating... eerie."

Part One: Entering, thru Apes, Chimps, Orangutans, One Horned Rhino, Cats, Black Rhino, Hippo, Peccaries, Wolves, Bears, Puente, Komodo, back to Apes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt4-d0voTyQ

Part Two: Chimpanzees in yard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWFfHTlXNs8

Part Three: Savannah, Gorillas, to Children's Zoo, Farm, and out. ... Note through the trees in CZ you can see the actual orange color of the sky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUZXvg6AmVo

I left just after 1p and it looked like it was 9p.  Not much orange sky at that time, but nighttime darkness. ... By 2:30p there was a weird daylight breaking through.

While it was a cool experience, despite the reason for it, there were also a couple of odd feelings in certain places.  One in the moment and one in hindsight. While filming at Cats, the lighting appearance of sundown, brought on a quick snip of a vision of the events of Christmas 2007.  Sadness for Tatiana came over me, so I quickly stopped filming and moved on.  Then, while playing my files to put together the videos, when viewing from Peccaries to Wolves, I realized how isolated I was in the dark, at the far end of the Zoo. It reminded me of when a visitor entered the Grizzly Bear enclosure in  November 2009.  At the time, I was outraged that visitors were still allowed to roam the Zoo in the dark, two years after Tatiana.  This was before I started cranky blogging, and instead wrote emails to the Director.  This one asked if she was waiting for another tragedy, noting that visitors should not be allowed to be in the Zoo, around Animal enclosures, in the dark and that the Zoo should be closed earlier when the time changes to Standard Time.  Director Peterson proposed a Winter hour schedule at the next Joint Zoo Committee Meeting.  ... That all said, there I was, wandering about in the dark, not a staff member in sight.  In hindsight, I'm bothered the Animals were left vulnerable during this day darkness.  I would have liked to see someone posted at breachable enclosures.

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Blogger's Statement

"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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