Once again Visitors misbehave, I witness it and Security basically does nothing. This is one of the reasons I must blog. This is one of the reasons my brain hurts, regarding so much Zoo-wise. I wish it wasn't that way, but I care about the safety of the Animals who live there, in regards to Visitor actions, that I can't help but get upset.
So, here is what happened today. My friend Lee and I were sitting on Tatiana's (Tiger) bench. The bench that was donated by funds raised in her memory by those who loved her and were outraged at the circumstances surrounding her death. I was one of those people. This bench sits in front of the enclosure the Tatiana lived in with her companion Tony. I am sure anyone who is reading this, has knowledge of the events that happened Christmas Day 2007. If not google it.
After those events there were upgrades made to the barrier at the Visitor side, as the drama surrounding the circumstances made it seem as though it was a Zoo fail, that the event could even happen. In my opinion, this was not a Zoo fail. In short, Big Cats had lived there for close to 80 years, without escaping. The issue of wall height was not an issue, as the "recommended height" was NOT "required height". AND the obvious was documented three years later, that she had been taunted (more like tortured to a boiling point). She also did not leap out of the enclosure, she allegedly used some dangling legs as a ladder of flesh.
Knowing all that, why would anyone do the following, and why did I have to witness it? It really amazes me that Lee and I seem to be the only ones who think the behavior we see is bad. Maybe this is why we are witnesses. God knows that we will stand-up for what is right. If the lady who had seem the Dhaliwal's misbehaving at the Lions prior to getting to Tatiana's enclosure had reported it, maybe Tatiana would still be alive today. That is in part, why I get involved.
As we sat there enjoying watching Tunya and Sukari (Lions), a family strolls up. T he father immediately stands on the cement curb and then up on the ledge, body against the barrier glass, dangling his arms over the top, trying to get the Lions attention. OMG!!! I absolutely could not believe what I was seeing. I started taking photos to document it. I have seen alot of misbehavior, its a daily occurrence at the Zoo. I had vowed after the Bear Grotto incident (see blog http://sanfranciscozoocrime.blogspot.com/2011/03/welcomeif-you-are-reading-this-blog-you.html) not to get involved ever again, but when I see something so horrifying, I can't help myself. When a Visitor does something that can put an Animals life in danger, I can not just sit there and watch.
If you are asking how do these actions I write about put an Animal's life in danger, I'll note a couple past events as example. Tatiana, abused by Visitors to the point she got out, hunted them down and killed on of her attackers. She was shot in the head 14 times, because she defended herself, her companion and her home. Two years later a man voluntarily enters the Grizzly Bear enclosure. One of the Bears sniffed him and moved on. Had that not been the the way it played out and one of the Bears went after him, in anyway, even playful, they would have both taken a bullet. So, regardless of the scenario, the Animal will always lose its life.
In the case of today, sure there is a window barrier as such you can see in the photo (in case you have never been to the San Francisco Zoo), but what if there was a fluke and something happened that this guy fell in? One of those precious Lions might have lost their life. I am painting an extreme outcome that I do not believe could happen in this instance, but that is not the whole point. The point is, this behavior is unacceptable. Why do people come to the Zoo, pay to get in and then act the fool all over the place? I don't get it. Until I became hypersensitive to misbehavior, I thought people who visited the Zoo did so because they liked animals. Behavior I see continuously suggests something different.
Even further OMG, this is happening at the same enclosure as the Tatiana event!
Before I go any further with my commentary, I continue with the chain of events.
So, even though I do not want to get involved, I go to the Lion House to ask the Security guard there to call another guard to talk to these offenders. As I walk up, Security guard Gisella bikes in. She played a part in untruths in regard to the Bear Grotto incident, so I would have preferred to not be involved in something she was involved in again, but no choice. I told her what I saw, showed her the photo, she thanked me and off she went. I followed back to the scene to point out the offenders.
When she approached them, she said in a low pleasant voice, " ... for you safety,..." I could not believe it! AGAIN Security basically does nothing!!! Just like when a Visitor threw something at Cobby the Chimp! (see post on this blog, http://sanfranciscozoofails.blogspot.com/2011/05/zoo-management-lets-visitors-abuse.html) OUTRAGEOUS! What is going on? Why does Security make nice with people who are seriously misbehaving? They should be asked to leave, but at the very least be spoken to with a more stern voice and wording. No wonder people run wild in the place. They know they can.
I may be in the minority, but once a Visitor initiates misbehavior, that should void them as a Security priority. The Animals that live there never seem to be the priority concern Security-wise. Its disgusting.
If I was a Keeper and saw how disrespectful Security is in regards to reprimanding Visitors offending towards the Animals in my care, I would be pissed.
I digress. ... The wife of the offender, then says to me, "Are you happy now?" What is that even supposed to mean? Her husband acts the fool, engages in a serious Security action and she is turning my reporting it around? I had not planned to say anything to these people, but she opened a dialog with me first. I responded, "He should not be up there. There are barriers for a reason." Again she says, "Are you happy now." I said, "Don't you watch the News. You must know what happened the last time someone dangled over the barrier." Then I just stopped. To me asking, "If I was happy now", was the most ridiculous thing to say. NO, I'm not happy that your offensive husband is putting our precious Animals at risk with his bad behavior.
So, again proven offensive Visitors are smiled at and asked not to misbehave. Seriously? Man-up San Francisco Zoo, stop being cowards! Do something to deter this bad behavior. Start sending a message. Start educating people about respecting the Animals BEFORE they enter the Zoo. Don't hide behind the signs that are posted here and there, and think they are enough. They are not. Have a video at the entrance. Have a video in the Cafe. Tell people how they are expected to behave once they enter the Zoo. Have docents talk to groups before they enter. Do something, because misbehavior toward the Animals is epidemic.
So, here is what happened today. My friend Lee and I were sitting on Tatiana's (Tiger) bench. The bench that was donated by funds raised in her memory by those who loved her and were outraged at the circumstances surrounding her death. I was one of those people. This bench sits in front of the enclosure the Tatiana lived in with her companion Tony. I am sure anyone who is reading this, has knowledge of the events that happened Christmas Day 2007. If not google it.
After those events there were upgrades made to the barrier at the Visitor side, as the drama surrounding the circumstances made it seem as though it was a Zoo fail, that the event could even happen. In my opinion, this was not a Zoo fail. In short, Big Cats had lived there for close to 80 years, without escaping. The issue of wall height was not an issue, as the "recommended height" was NOT "required height". AND the obvious was documented three years later, that she had been taunted (more like tortured to a boiling point). She also did not leap out of the enclosure, she allegedly used some dangling legs as a ladder of flesh.
Knowing all that, why would anyone do the following, and why did I have to witness it? It really amazes me that Lee and I seem to be the only ones who think the behavior we see is bad. Maybe this is why we are witnesses. God knows that we will stand-up for what is right. If the lady who had seem the Dhaliwal's misbehaving at the Lions prior to getting to Tatiana's enclosure had reported it, maybe Tatiana would still be alive today. That is in part, why I get involved.
As we sat there enjoying watching Tunya and Sukari (Lions), a family strolls up. T he father immediately stands on the cement curb and then up on the ledge, body against the barrier glass, dangling his arms over the top, trying to get the Lions attention. OMG!!! I absolutely could not believe what I was seeing. I started taking photos to document it. I have seen alot of misbehavior, its a daily occurrence at the Zoo. I had vowed after the Bear Grotto incident (see blog http://sanfranciscozoocrime.blogspot.com/2011/03/welcomeif-you-are-reading-this-blog-you.html) not to get involved ever again, but when I see something so horrifying, I can't help myself. When a Visitor does something that can put an Animals life in danger, I can not just sit there and watch.
If you are asking how do these actions I write about put an Animal's life in danger, I'll note a couple past events as example. Tatiana, abused by Visitors to the point she got out, hunted them down and killed on of her attackers. She was shot in the head 14 times, because she defended herself, her companion and her home. Two years later a man voluntarily enters the Grizzly Bear enclosure. One of the Bears sniffed him and moved on. Had that not been the the way it played out and one of the Bears went after him, in anyway, even playful, they would have both taken a bullet. So, regardless of the scenario, the Animal will always lose its life.
In the case of today, sure there is a window barrier as such you can see in the photo (in case you have never been to the San Francisco Zoo), but what if there was a fluke and something happened that this guy fell in? One of those precious Lions might have lost their life. I am painting an extreme outcome that I do not believe could happen in this instance, but that is not the whole point. The point is, this behavior is unacceptable. Why do people come to the Zoo, pay to get in and then act the fool all over the place? I don't get it. Until I became hypersensitive to misbehavior, I thought people who visited the Zoo did so because they liked animals. Behavior I see continuously suggests something different.
Even further OMG, this is happening at the same enclosure as the Tatiana event!
Before I go any further with my commentary, I continue with the chain of events.
So, even though I do not want to get involved, I go to the Lion House to ask the Security guard there to call another guard to talk to these offenders. As I walk up, Security guard Gisella bikes in. She played a part in untruths in regard to the Bear Grotto incident, so I would have preferred to not be involved in something she was involved in again, but no choice. I told her what I saw, showed her the photo, she thanked me and off she went. I followed back to the scene to point out the offenders.
When she approached them, she said in a low pleasant voice, " ... for you safety,..." I could not believe it! AGAIN Security basically does nothing!!! Just like when a Visitor threw something at Cobby the Chimp! (see post on this blog, http://sanfranciscozoofails.blogspot.com/2011/05/zoo-management-lets-visitors-abuse.html) OUTRAGEOUS! What is going on? Why does Security make nice with people who are seriously misbehaving? They should be asked to leave, but at the very least be spoken to with a more stern voice and wording. No wonder people run wild in the place. They know they can.
I may be in the minority, but once a Visitor initiates misbehavior, that should void them as a Security priority. The Animals that live there never seem to be the priority concern Security-wise. Its disgusting.
If I was a Keeper and saw how disrespectful Security is in regards to reprimanding Visitors offending towards the Animals in my care, I would be pissed.
I digress. ... The wife of the offender, then says to me, "Are you happy now?" What is that even supposed to mean? Her husband acts the fool, engages in a serious Security action and she is turning my reporting it around? I had not planned to say anything to these people, but she opened a dialog with me first. I responded, "He should not be up there. There are barriers for a reason." Again she says, "Are you happy now." I said, "Don't you watch the News. You must know what happened the last time someone dangled over the barrier." Then I just stopped. To me asking, "If I was happy now", was the most ridiculous thing to say. NO, I'm not happy that your offensive husband is putting our precious Animals at risk with his bad behavior.
So, again proven offensive Visitors are smiled at and asked not to misbehave. Seriously? Man-up San Francisco Zoo, stop being cowards! Do something to deter this bad behavior. Start sending a message. Start educating people about respecting the Animals BEFORE they enter the Zoo. Don't hide behind the signs that are posted here and there, and think they are enough. They are not. Have a video at the entrance. Have a video in the Cafe. Tell people how they are expected to behave once they enter the Zoo. Have docents talk to groups before they enter. Do something, because misbehavior toward the Animals is epidemic.
I was there, sitting on the bench and witnessed this horrible behavior... We mentioned getting security to eachother while taking the photo. The guy and his wife heard this and still, he kept it up. (what an example for their child)...
ReplyDeleteI swear we could do a tv show called "zoo visitors gone bad" and the show would be on ten yrs. (not funny)... Also, what if this glass had popped off? I do not feel that the zoo sees the safety of the animals as a priority. In this instance, security peddled her bike up to the guy and very sweetly and nicely pampered him. "oh sir, excuse me, but for you safety, don't climb on the enclosures" and then nicely peddled away. No stern warning, etc.... she acted like she was bothering him by mentioning it. Very pitiful !!! I was shocked and hurt by this. Security didnt even stay around to watch these people further and the wife got mad at my friend. When will the zoo realize that they need to be firm, take a stand, there was a law passed that was created by a city supervisor. I would think he would wonder why the zoo ignores his hard work in getting a law passed that is NEVER enforced.
@andiecattt- Thank you for your comment. Yes to it all. Insane that the wife did seem to take a tone with me, because I alerted Security. It was also curious that instead of keeping an eye-out on these offenders, Security was behind the bush where we were sitting, for several minutes. I'm not goign to be paranoid and speculate on that lol! , but it is curious! ... Yes, there is the law, but unfortunately, and I don't know why, Supervisor Elsbernd doesn't seem to concerned with whether its enforced or not, as I have personally alerted him to instances it has not been. As well, I have been told by Staff that unless they witness the offending actions, they can't do anything more about it than give them a warning. Isn't seeing a photo like the one I have like witnessing it? Regardless does the warning have to come with a smile? Is it a happy thing that the Animals are being offended? Some may also say that the dangling of hands in this way is not offensive. Would those people like someone to reach into the window of their homes? Its all CRAZY!
ReplyDeleteThis behavior should not be condoned. I think it is horrible the way the zoo ignores the well being of the animals in their care.
ReplyDeleteok haven't been able to post a comment successfully on this blog but trying again. Sadly this kind of behavior is an epidemic in our society. I have seen similar things many times at SFZ. The more we try to protect people from their own bad behavior and give safety warnings the more they seem to feel challenged to prove they can get away with it. See this excellent article for perhaps some of the reasons why:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2c9171%2c2088080%2c00.html?hpt=hp_t2
I don't know what the solution is, I can only pray that our society wakes up.
@annaquarian- Thank you for your comment. Yes! by doing nothing but gently saying not to do something, is in my opinion condoning the behavior/action. It happens there all the time. I don't know if you read the Cobby post, but someone literally threw something at one of the Animal Residents and nothing was done. Nothing was even said until I was like, are you goign to say anything to them? Disgusting. ... I want to be clear to readers, this is not a fail at Keeper level, THIS is how management wants to handle offenders.
ReplyDelete@anonymous- Thank you for your comment and that great article! Possibly the best thing I've read to describe society (humans) vs animals. I was disgusted and said YES many times! The best line that sums it up is, "I've given up on finding a show that teaches us how to live in harmony with animals. Instead, we invade their habitats and, when they defend themselves, we brand them violent." UG, so where DOES that leave us? It is epidemic as I visited the park many times weekly and witness misbehavior as well. Is everyone just simply stupid? Evil? ... Interesting take on Irwin in that article. I had only seem him on talk shows and there he was always caring towards the Animals. ... Re: Into the Pride. I too felt that the Lions should not have to "learn to live with humans" but when the or else was in play, it was the obnoxious antics of Salmoni or the end of the pride. ... I would love to wake up one day and go tot he Zoo or Park and not have to see people stepping on Peacocks Feathers to pull them out or someone with a stick poking a turtle in the neck while trying to flip it over.
ReplyDelete@anonymous- I got off track a bit in noting the article. So, in reference to the Zoo do you agree that (since we can't change society behavior) Security eg Zoo Management should be more aggressive and stern in their position on such behavior?
ReplyDeleteyes! management should be more serious about behavior of visitors! My only fear is that the kind of people who behave so stupidly are only goaded on by a stern approach and re-offend because they want to "beat" authority. I don't know if this is why the zoo approaches offense so lightly, though. BTW this is Joanne of course, I'm "anonymous" because it seems to be the only way this blog will allow me to post.
ReplyDelete@anonymous - Thank you for the comment Joanne! Sorry it to so long to approve, I was not online yesterday. ... I am sure you are right in that some people would find it more of a challenge to continue. THAT is why people would be thrown out when the offense is so blatant and severe. BUT the Zoo does not do that. WHY? Who knows. Are THEY afraid of offending people? I say who cares about these people. Is their dollar more important than the safety of the Animals?
ReplyDelete