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March 22, 2007
Double Edged Sword
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| The photo above is from the San Francisco
Zoo. The eagle's name is Sequoia. She's 18 years old and weighs in at
12 pounds. Sequoia was shot when very young and doesn't have tail control,
so she can't fly and has lived in captivity most of her life. This was the closest I've ever been to a bald eagle, but unlike most of the other zoo attendees I've seen them in the wild. Here in the North State there are many opportunities to see these raptors. I've seen them in Lassen National Forest, Shasta Lake, and a few years ago I saw one flying over Bidwell Park from the disc golf course on highway 32. It's easy to forget that Chico stands at the gateway to some incredible wilderness. Going to the zoo is always a double-edged sword. Seeing living examples of what's on the Discovery Channel is a compelling experience. It's also good that zoos have changed their primary missions from "entertainment" to conservation over the years. But whenever I leave a zoo I can't help but realize how small they are. The chimpanzees are lodged into a set of cages no bigger than my backyard. That's the case with many of the animals. The exhibits that were the center of attention when I was a kid are now decrepit and unused. The elephants were gone. Where did they go? The SF Zoo recently opened a savannah exhibit where the giraffe, zebra, ostrich, and antelope live together in a large open area. The happy zoo goers wander through and around the area. This exhibit was much more natural than the older ones. I hope this is the direction many of the exhibits take. I would even be willing to pay $7 for a hotdog and bottle of water if it helps renovate some of the older exhibits. The $6 I paid seemed on the low side. |
Posted by Lon at March 22, 2007 08:01 AM