Zoos
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1993:
Trying to share World Series pub-
licity, the Philadelphia Zoo wagered the loan of
two white lion cubs against the loan of two
Tasmanian Devils from the Toronto Zoo on
October 17––and incensed some Philadelphians
who thought the deal showed a casual attitude
toward the fate of the animals. Both zoos are
well-reputed, and the animals were apparently
scheduled to be moved elsewhere anyway.
The San Diego Zoo, barred from
renting two giant pandas from China at $1
million a year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, is trying to decide what to do with a
new million-dollar panda cage and an extensive
stock of panda souvenirs. Interior Secretary
Bruce Babbitt ruled that the deal might con-
tribute to “irresistible pressure for the capture
and export of pandas,” contrary to the best
interest of the highly endangered species, even
though it was billed as a breeding loan and
China was supposed to spend the revenue on
panda conservation projects––which have
included such only vaguely related activities as
building hotels and hydroelectric dams in the
recent past. The deal also contradicted policy
of the American Society of Zoological Parks
and Aquariums.
More than 130 animals at the
Shanghai Zoo died during the summer from
abuse by visitors, according to the China Youth
Daily. Among them were 11 members of
endangered species and eight members of other
protected species. Most died from having been
fed inappropriate objects such as plastic bags
and metal bottle caps. In addition, a hippopota-
mus was injured from being poked in the eye
with an umbrella, and golden monkeys kept in
a protective cage were nonetheless harassed
until they became seriously ill.
The New Jersey State Aquarium in
early October killed or seriously injured more
than a dozen tunny, a small relative of tuna,
while trying to capture two for exhibit, the
Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Last year the
aquarium also caught tunny, all of whom died
within days.
1993 United Nations Global
Environmental Award winner Birute
Galdikas, noted for field study of orangutans,
helped open the Houston Zoo’s new $6.7 mil-
lion primate exhibit on September 10. The nat-
ural habitat exhibit replaced a facility built in
1949. An elevated walkway enables visitors to
view monkeys at close range as they swing
through treetops in a rainforest planted to take
advantage of the hot, humid Houston climate.
The Otto Orkin Insect Zoo at the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.
reopened September 12 after expansion and
renovation. The work on the insect zoo, the
first of its kind when founded in 1976, was
funded with a grant of $500,000 from the Orkin
Pest Control company. Explained Orkin
spokesperson Linda Linahan-Menna, “We’re
always trying to educate people about what are
harmful insects and what are not.”
Parc Safari at Hemmingford,
Quebec, killed 79 of its 950 animals in mid-
October due to an outbreak of tuberculosis.
Agriculture Canada halted the killing of 207
more (mostly deer and bison) pending autopsies
on the other suspected TB victims.
