Jingsamichty

Why did they shoot the giraffe? It would have been more natural to just put in to the lions' enclosure and let them chase it for a bit.

Piff Poff

That would have been more natural.

magnumpi

Will the tigers go on a hunger strike in support of their Union member/comrade

caretaker

I think if you kick off at home your housecat only waits about 12 hours or so once their food dish is empty... wouldn't expect much more loyalty from a tiger. Hmmm, can't really think of supper now.

Jingsamichty

I bet there's a big pot of stew in the zoo cafe tomorrow.

magnumpi

And four "lucky giraffe" foot keyrings

ann m

There has been a massive drop in populations in the past decade, from around 140,000 down to about 80,000. I still think it's a sad story today, but I'm not going to get bent out of shape about it.

The4BellsLondon

Longleat are culling lions now too

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...aff-tears.html

Sorry it's a DM article ..

scrubbedexpat091

Circus no, not worth it.

A well run non-profit zoo with conservation and research departments yes generally are worth it, and have saved several species from complete extinction.

Google California Condor, when the LA and San Diego Zoo's started a program to captive breed and release along with the US Government, there were only 22 animals left in the wild.

Now there are 240 in the wild, and 417 total.

http://www.sandiegozooglobal.org/suc...tories/condors

caretaker

I was a bit familiar with the condor, but much more with the Whooping Crane because they come up our central flyway and we always hope ro get a glimpse of them in spring. They were coaxed back from certain extinction over the past 70 years and could still be wiped out by one big oil accident where they winter in Texas on the Gulf. The only polar bear I ever saw was in the Stanley Park Zoo (I'm guessing in the late '60s) and he was without a doubt the most miserable bear I've ever seen. The penguins seemed ok, the monkeys were having a riot as far as I could see, but the polar bear was constantly in and out of a refrigerated pool trying to beat the heat. They're better off just having the aquarium now, (though I haven't been since about '83 when they first opened the Amazon Exhibit). A trip to Al Oeming's Okanagan Game Farm in the early '80s was better - the animals he didn't have room for at his Alberta facility seemed at ease and some (one giraffe in particular) would come to the fence and nuzzle the people looking for treats. Controversy aside, in places where there is no zoo the circus is the only place to see lions and tigers and elephants and eventually they won't have that anymore. I believe school children here are still given free tickets to the circus (in the '60s they took us out of class and bussed us there for the afternoon).

bats

Cats are picky eaters, those lions will want giraffe everyday now.

Jingsamichty

That shouldn't be difficult, apparently the zoo has a breeding surplus. I think I've eaten giraffe once before, at a South African restaurant in London years ago. Maybe the zoo could start to farm them.

nldfc

Looks like they killed it then butchered it in front of a load of schoolkids - what's that all about

Shard

Probably the same thing your graphic photos about.

nldfc

Fair point - in behind spoiler tags now