Hailey and I were at the Edmonton zoo this morning for a meet up playdate with one of my mom group mommies, and I want to state for the record the Edmonton zoo sucks. Not only does some of the animal exhibits boarder on animal abuse but everything there is just so outdated and old. It just breaks my heart to see the sea lions in their concrete "tub" no bigger then my kitchen, or the monkeys in their concrete enclosures that are no bigger then my bathroom, while the gophers have more real estate then they know what to do with. I know that the Valley Zoo got a huge cash infusion to do some upgrades on the property (probably thanks to good ol' Bob Barker and his public exposure on how sad our zoo facility really is) but I really don't know how much can be done with a lot of the animals that already have lived there since the 70's. We met a cockatoo today that the handler mentioned that she had no idea how old the bird was, she figured the little guy was about 30-40 years and he had been there since 1978. Makes me wonder what else they don't really know about the animals they have there. Speaking of Bob, Hailey and I were watching the "Lucy the Elephant show" today and I really don't think that poor elephant has that much left in her, and his insane pressure to move her to a sanctuary somewhere just might do the poor girl in. I'm in total agreement that Lucy should be somewhere better for her, somewhere bigger, better and with friends, but I'm not for moving her and stressing her out just to appease some crazy Hollywood nut job. I just know that there is no way that the zoo would give her up without too much of a fight simply because there isn't anything there really worth paying almost $20 for me and Hailey to get in. I'm pretty sure that I can go find some gophers, sheep, and ducks somewhere else and probably have a better time. Maybe I'm just a little jaded as most of the animal enclosures were still closed and we really didn't get to see very much, but that seemed to be the case last year too when we went. All I can say is that we are very much looking forward to our trip to Calgary where we will be able to see a lot more, and hopefully not feel the urge to "Free Willy" as we walk out of the gates.
L
1 comment:
I have heard the same comments from other that take their kids to the zoo. Why are we trying to have elephants and tigers in that tiny little zoo? I think it's ridiculous and should be stopped. Put in gophers, some funny little animals that will have lots of space. Small children find gophers and chickens just as interesting anyway. Keep the larger animals for those facilities that have the space and care I think.
I hear the Calgary zoo is awesome, so that should be a much better experience. Recently the city upgraded the Muttart conservatory too...they spent a ton of money but it sure didn't show. I don't think the city has a good handle on its public spaces at all.
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