Please read my final post (and expand the comments for additional info) on the blog that was dedicated to bringing attention to the issue that this precious Bear needed and deserved to have a bit of landscaping to the surface of his home.
http://projectgetwishbonegrass.blogspot.com/2012/03/rip-wishbone-sfzoo-bear-dies-after.html
http://projectgetwishbonegrass.blogspot.com/2012/03/rip-wishbone-sfzoo-bear-dies-after.html
Who's fault it is this never happened, all the attempts I made to help, its all there.
Thank you.
It is too bad that this bear never got to live in a decent exhibit. The responsible thing to do would have been to send the Andean bear and the polar bears to other zoos with good bear exhibits if the SF Zoo couldn't afford to build them a modern and comfortable home.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous- Thank you for your comment. As a lifelong Visitor and Member, I have some photos that showed the Andean Bears on two different grassy surfaces, but that was over four years ago and none of those areas were their home for any long period of time from what I could gather. So, YES it is too bad that for the final years of both Andean Bears lives, they lived exclusively on concrete. The thing is, no matter what the Zoo says, in my opinion it was never about money. They just didn't want to do the right thing. The Bear grottos are ancient, but not unstable or un-upgradable. There is no reason those grottos were not upgraded (as I stated like the Big Cat ones were) many years ago. That said, there is no reason why current fundraising wasn't geared toward upgrading, in the way that it was toward building new areas and bringing in new animals. It could have been done, it should have been done. That said, there is no reason why those Bears didn't have a natural surface to live on, other than those people with authority in the Zoological Society just didn't want to. ... There is no reason why they should be subject to being sent elsewhere, when the Zoo could do the right thing and make upgrading a priority. I am in the process of researching all the Andean Bear exhibits in the USA and there are still ones out there that are concrete like this and some that were but have clearly been upgraded. So, they could have ended up in a worse situation. Upgrading just should have been done period. The Zoo touts their Mission Statement and Respect for Animals, to me they are hypocrites. ... I find it curious that the AZA accredits Zoo's that make no attempt to upgrade, and they are allowed to forge ahead with new areas, for new animals. There should be minimum guidelines regarding exhibit habitats.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson for a nice Andean bear exhibit. It would have made a nice home for the SF bear. Too late. Sad.
ReplyDeleteHopefully SF won't be crazy enough to get any new bears unless they build them a nicer home like they did for the grizzlies.
AZA bear standards don't seem to be anywhere near as good as they are for elephants and apes. You could only hope that will change. It seems to be changing for polar bears at least, but that may be because they are also regulated by the Marine Mammal Act.
@Anonymous- Thanks for the info, I will seek out some photos of that exhibit. I haven't gotten as far as checking the AZA standards, hopefully all that info is online, as I have written the AZA before and never gotten a response. I sometimes wonder with how lax they seem to be on things if its not much like most other things in greased palms and back pats. Don't even know about the Marine Mammal Act. I'm new to being an "activist" in a sense. I just started out wanting them to do the right thing and obviously they don't or didn't in Wishy's case. ... Regarding "new" homes like for the Grizzlies, I don't see that happening in the next ten years even, and having seen what was done to the Big Cat grottos, I think doing the same to the Bear would be fine, IF they would just do that. I don't really understanf WHY it was never done. That's the really frustrating and sad thing in all this. ... Regarding getting a new Bear. I have my theory about what will go on with that. In short I would bet they do some type of landscaping to Wishy's grotto (which will be a slap in his face) and then try to get another Bear. There are plenty of Bears that need rescuing and I'm all for saving animals lives, its just sad that it wouldn't have been Wishbones they tried to save.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I passed by Wishy's empty grotto today. I miss that little boy bear so much. He still had a few years in him had he been respected enough to have a nice little patch of grass to help in his older joints. I am handicapped myself and could not imagine walking forever on an unforgiving surface. Poor little Annie didnt have a chance, and now Wishy is gone too. I had even offered to pay for a patch of grass and that offer fell on deaf ears. The upper zoo people are like an Old Men's Club. One hand always greases the other's palm. The animals suffer for these old fashioned men that only deal in cocktail parties and nothing more. They use the zoo as a tax write off but never actually check to see where the money goes. The zoo is 80 years old and still not updated. I urge people to please comment, please get involved. You can remain anonymous, just please comment. Wishbone...I think of you every day and will always love you.
ReplyDeleteI am so outraged at the idea of all this playground bullshit. Sorry for the french but it is bullshit. The zoo management financially are not upgrading the precious animal exhibits and making a comfy place for these magnificent creatures to live. Instead, they are throwing millions into a giant playground while their so called mission statement remains a big fat lie. How can it be that the zoo claims that they connect people with nature when in fact they are trying to make the zoo an amusement park. This aint Marine World, it aint Magic Mountain. We have Golden Gate Park for kids to run and play. Please people, please comment on this situation. Animals are being ignored for money coming in for playgrounds. Kids arent gonna learn about animals if they are coming to play in the playground. It's such an insult to all animal lovers. We need donors that are younger and see the full picture...what the zoo should be about...ANIMALS. The zoo should look into successful zoos across the country and see that it's not about playgrounds...it's about learning about the wonderful animals that are becoming extinct because education is falling by the wayside in lieu of amusement parks.
ReplyDelete@andiecattt- Thank you for your comment and bluntness. I agree 100%. All Visitors and Members who care about the Zoo for the Animal Park it is supposed to be, should be outraged. Taking care of the Animals and their living space should be priority in an Animal Park and it is not at the San Francisco Zoo. Unfortunately, I think there are alot of people who don't give a crap and it saddens me these are the people who visit and are part of the decision making process at the Zoo.
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