Enough is enough...the Calgary Zoo needs

[digital-audiophile]

How many mountain goats fall off of cliff faces though

[Delphinus]

There's no denying that human encroachment has a tendency to make things worse, but accidents are accidents and they happen. I remember watching a documentary once about these elephants somewhere in SE Asia (forget where exactly) that would literally migrate along these narrow paths on these sheer cliffs. There were plenty of elephant skeletons at the bottom of the cliff. There may be plenty of things humans can be blamed for but this would be not be one (for a change!!). Wish I could remember more about the documentary, sorry.. I tried googling it but ran up short in the time I gave myself to find some corroborating site.

But all I really mean is that animals aren't so sagely wise to never have accidents in the wild. Life in the wild is harsh man. Eat or be eaten, etc...

[Keri]

Originally Posted by 'Ol Nobodaddy

I've yet to see a wild animal hang themselves , plus don't knock the gift girl..it's ignorant.

Hey, I'm not knocking the gift shop girls intelligence simply because she works in a gift shop, but because it was just rather odd of her to say "it happens all the time" when goats hanging themselves in their enclosure clearly doesn't happen all the time. Like the person ahead of me posted, she was likely placating the visitor and then contacted someone. The remark itself probably doesn't sound that smart but I doubt she meant it with any harm. Zoos get all kinds of weird comments from visitors, the last time I was at the zoo another visitor was asking if the turles all piled up on the log together should be moved as they were "suffocating" the lower ones. The zookeeper answered very politely.

[hillbillyreefer]

Originally Posted by 'Ol Nobodaddy

Again...i've never seen an animal hang themselves in the WILD. That meaning without the encroachment of humans in one way or another. If you had no fence there the moose wasn't going to run into a tree and get tangled now was it

You are correct, unfortunately there is something called reality. Guess the horrible person didn't have to cut the fence either but I did. Then I had to fix it to keep the ranchers cows in. Guess I didn't have to but then somebody would have been mad at him because his cows were out on another persons property, or worse standing on the road for you and your kids to come along and hit with your vehicle.

[Pan]

Originally Posted by hillbillyreefer

You are correct, unfortunately there is something called reality. Guess the horrible person didn't have to cut the fence either but I did. Then I had to fix it to keep the ranchers cows in. Guess I didn't have to but then somebody would have been mad at him because his cows were out on another persons property, or worse standing on the road for you and your kids to come along and hit with your vehicle.

I;m neither condemning you for the fence nor the rebuilding of said fence. I was only stating the rather obvious point that in general an animal isn't going to hang themselves in naturally occurring wilderness. That being said of course accidents happen, people try and use reason to figure out why, this does not work. It's like the people who build next to the ocean in tsunami country and then when the inevitable happens, cry out why why did this happen to me. It didn't it just happened, you were there...things do just happen. Poor goats and things are not exempt from it In retrospect i will praise you for rebuilding the fence and not having a helping hand in death by cow for the little kiddies and their parents out for a nice sunday drive through cowland

[superduperwesman]

I was at the zoo a little after the sting rays died and I overheard the one zoo keeper telling someone that they thought someone had put something in the water but it was still being investigated.

What someone could have put in there to toast the tank??? I have no idea?? Sounds a little made up to me and with a lot of unknowns but that's what I heard... from my cousins, brothers, uncles ex girlfriends friend who knew someone who worked at the zoo a few years ago.

But the baby elephant was still around at that time and was really cute

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by superduperwesman

But the baby elephant was still around at that time and was really cute

I'm pretty sure I saw the elephants make that baby last time I was there, not so cute but pretty emasculating.

[justinl]

Originally Posted by superduperwesman

I was at the zoo a little after the sting rays died and I overheard the one zoo keeper telling someone that they thought someone had put something in the water but it was still being investigated.

What someone could have put in there to toast the tank??? I have no idea?? Sounds a little made up to me and with a lot of unknowns but that's what I heard... from my cousins, brothers, uncles ex girlfriends friend who knew someone who worked at the zoo a few years ago.

But the baby elephant was still around at that time and was really cute

I would bet it was just the staff speculating based on not much at all. If i recall correctly, the tank was a touch tank... that is open for the visitors at all times. which means it is EXTREMELY vulnerable to foreign stuff getting thrown intentional or not. it also means that they probably have no idea what to test for, meaning that this might never be resolved. Personally I am completely against touch tanks unless there is an experienced staff member there at all times. you never know when lil 5 year old mikey is going to escape the unwary gaze of his parents and dump an entire bottle of soda and a chocolate bar in to feed the fishies.

back in the 70's i think it was, the Vancouver aquarium was almost shut down because some nutter poisoned most of the tanks with rat poison (cyanide). unfortunately, the reality is that it is not hard at all to crash a system or kill its inhabitants... some of us know that all too well.

[spanky]

I personally think this was a freak accident

[levi1803]

Yes it was actually a touch tank, there was staff there at all times though letting groups of a specific amount of people in at a time and they all had to disinfect their hands before being able to stick their hands in the tank, so it was I suppose a fairly regimented affair to go and see them. I think personally they did take pretty good precautions when it came to the tank, it wasn't a free for all so I respect that they did try their best to make it as safe as possible. As for them getting more I hope it turns out alright, I'm a huge supporter of the Calgary Zoo and have quite a few friends that work there. I personally don't 100% agree with everything that's done but I trust the fact that they will only do the best they can to educate people about animals and habitats that are being lost, or that most people may never see in their lifetime.

I personally think they do good work and don't blame them for accidents that happen or things that are out of their control, unfortunatly it happens in life. I work for the humane society and if some of you have seen what I have seen you would appreciate what the Calgary Zoo does, it's the ignorant pet owners that are the one's people should be getting upset with.