Do We Really Need A New Playground? NO!

The sting of Wishbone's death is still painful.  It hurts even more when I see stuff like this.  When I say stuff" I directly mean the hard proof of money being spent to create new areas in the Zoo, when Animals who live there, especially Wishbone, are living in exhibits that could use upgrading.  A majority of the Animals have  decent homes, but there are some that need upgrading, and in Wishbone's case, could have used upgrading decades ago and everyday since then. 

The Zoo Director and Management Staff do not fundraise for upgrading, they fundraise for new areas, new Animals.  I have written in prior posts here and on my Wishbone blog (projectgetwishbonegrass.blogspot.com)  about the Zoo's Master Plan that includes a new North American area that will bring in new Animals and about the new Playgrounds for humans.   So, new Animals and humans, get bright , shiny, new and modern areas, while current Animals continue to live status quo.   

I personally can not imagine being someone of authority in the Zoological Society and being able to sleep at night knowing I was forging ahead with plans that did not include helping the Animals that already live there, before anything else.  Leaving an Animal like Wishbone, (with known back issues) living exclusively on concrete, pounding his bones with every step he takes, is unconscionable at the very least.  ... Anyone who thinks this is okay, does not care about Animals and has no business running a Zoo or visiting one.

So, here we are, two weeks after the death of an Animal that was forced to live exclusively on concrete, I am force fed this display of the new children's Playground, newly on display in the Lion House.   The sight of it disgusts me.  There is absolutely no need for money to be spent this way.  The Playground already there is sufficient.  There is enough playground for the amount of playing that should be done at the Zoo.  This is an Animal Park, not Great America.  AND the ironic thing is that there is an artic looking area that is more natural than the Polar Bears actual living space!

  

The current playground.  Its sufficient.  Its a playground!

As well there is a huge grassy area behind it.

More grass than an Animal living there has, that's for sure!

RIP Wishbone - SFZOO Bear Dies After Years Of Living On Concrete

please see my tribute video to this day-dreaming boy XO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZCUaZyJ7SY

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

Who's fault it is this never happened, all the attempts I made to help, its all there.  

Thank you.

Project Get Wishbone Grass!

I'd like to see Wishbone enjoy grass again!

Project Get Wishbone Grass actually has its own blog www.projectgetwishbonegrass.blogspot.com I am adding a post on this site as it is the companion site to Project Get Wishbone Grass, in that the Mission for both sites is to bring awareness to certain curious issues at the San Francisco Zoo.

The issue that is Project Get Wishbone Grass, is beyond curious in that in my opinion its cruel. Please note that I have no issue with the level of care the Animals at the San Francisco Zoo get from their Keepers, but there are decisions that are made at the level above Keeper that I have a problem with.

Wishbone the Andean Bear is I believe the only Animal living at the San Francisco Zoo that lives exclusively on concrete. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!

I know for a fact that one Keeper has tried to get him (and his passed companion Annie) on a rotation with the Grizzly Grotto/Gulch area that both contain grass and allegedly those attempts have been foiled by those above.

I know for a fact that higher levels, including Management, San Francisco Zoological Board Members Nick Podell and David Stanton, San Francisco Park and Recreation Commissioner Larry Martin, and San Francisco Animal Welfare and Control Chair and Joint Zoo Committee Member Sally Stephens, are all aware of this issue, as I personally have sent them this situation in detail. What I sent them appears on the Project Get Wishbone Grass Blog.

Please visit www.projectgetwishbonegrass.blogspot.com for all the details. There is a collection of recent photos of Wishbone on my photo site, www.gooberssfzoofriends.shutterfly.com

The Contents of this Blog

When I started this Blog and the companion one, Project Get Wishbone Grass, I had a list of things I wanted to address. I had planned to post them periodically so as not to seem exclusively negative about the San Francisco Zoo. Which I am not.

After the event this past Saturday, and the amount of comments I have put forth on that single issue, I'm exhausted. The Zoo drama is emotionally exhausting and time consuming with thought and expression. I do have other things I need to do, but my Zoo friends are so precious to me, that I can't help but speak out in their defense. So, I will be making one more post and I surely hope that will be all for awhile.

The reason I am moving forward with posting about this one issue is that it was THE reason I started the blogs in which FAILS are brought to light and so maybe they will be turned into WINS! Bringing them to light aka making them public, may be the only way they get recognized by the Zoo and changes are made. The Zoo is aware of these issues, yet has chosen to do nothing about them. Management needs to make better decisions for the Zoo to thrive and be all that it can be. The issue to bring a grass landscaping to the Andean Bear Grotto, is something I think should be a top priority, if not THE priority for the San Francisco Zoo. Please read the following post, Project Get Wishbone Grass, that synopsizes this Bears situation.