Apparently the world economy is not just hurting people, but now it has claimed its first polar bear as well. The Berlin Zoo says that in order to keep Knut the celebrity polar bear at its zoo, it would need to spend about $15M on a new habitat. They apparently don't want to pay that amount because the influx of tourists to see the bear and the cash that he generates is slowing down too much to justify the expense. Since Knut became famous about two years ago, the zoo has made about $12M off Knut merchandise. Now that it has slowed, they feel this is the right time to sell the bear to another zoo.
Umm, I'm a little uncomfortable with the buying and selling of zoo animals strictly to make a profit. Isn't the idea of a zoo to protect animals and to give them an environment where people can come see them who would otherwise be unable to visit them in their natural habitat. It also seems a little sketchy that they only made this decision after the money stopped coming in. If the bear generated $12M just in merchandise sales don't you think it would be best if you spent all that money on the new habitat? Guess not. Guess they want to blow it all on bonuses and a killer Christmas party.
Knut became famous when his mother wouldn't have anything to do with him after his birth. Knut's zoo keeper then basically became mom and dad to the bear and slept with him, fed him, and stayed with him almost 24/7. The bear's keeper died two months ago and so now the zoo wants to take the money and run.
I think the zoo in Winnipeg recently had their oldest polar bear die (he might have been the oldest in Canada) - Knut should go there. Or Calgary - their zoo is kick ass.
ReplyDeleteSeems like everything or everyone is for sale these days - all for the bottom line. Sad.
Shame on them! Shame!
ReplyDeleteWherever he gets treated the best thats what I say. If the people in Canada or US appreciate him more and treat him better then goodbye and good riddance to Berlin. 15 million for a new habitat? Shit I wanna be a bear livin the high life not a damn dog with a blanket.
ReplyDeletesadly most 'zoos' have this type of idea. half of them are no better than the circus.
ReplyDeletei agree send the lil critter to Winnipeg, it has a kick ass zoo and its under snow 6 months of the year!
Zoos are not to protect animals. Zoos are to showcase them to get kids thinking about animals.
ReplyDeleteIf the zoo cannot support the maintenance of Knut and wants to send him to a place that can is thinking of Knut's best interest.
My friend's BFF is an exotic bird handler, and you wouldn't believe what goes on in some zoos. There are some that are there to educate people about animals, and sadly, there are many that are just about making a profit. It's sickening.
ReplyDeleteA new habitat costs $15 million?!?!! I fail to see how it would cost that much. Are they installing electricity and indoor plumbing? It's the same with all these other large institutions crying poor.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to look at the budget of all these places...
I went to a San Francisco zoo meeting many years ago just to see what sort of things they talk about (a monthly, public meeting). Not once did the people running the zoo mentioned the animals. It was all trying to make more money for non-animal related things.
ReplyDeleteThe Winnipeg zoo said after Debby the polar bear died, that the wouldn't be getting another one anytime soon, as their enclosure didn't meet the criteria in place now to keep the bears.
ReplyDeleteIt would be awesome to get Knut though! We loved going to see Debby, and what a treat it would be if Knut showed up!
FYI, Debby was the oldest bear in the world - she's in the Guinness World records.
For business I got to go on a bit of a behind the scenes tour with one of the shop buyers from the Calgary Zoo - she knew almost all the animals by name, their family members actually at the zoo, where they came from and all kinds of other things. It struck me as a very caring environment for the animals.
ReplyDeleteWow the world's oldest! That's cool to know. :) I wish I could have seen her.
We'd love a new bear in Winnipeg, but Calgary has the money to house the animal properly. Calgary probably has $15 million in its party fund right now. Rich city.
ReplyDeleteI just hope they don't let him out in the wild - he wouldn't survive 24 hours.
yeah except he's not really being 'sold' to anything, Knut's father came from Neumuenster Zoo, which is still entitled to Knut under a contract with Berlin Zoo.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7762252.stm
The Zoo in Basel, Switzerland wants to butcher and feed Farasi, a baby hippo, to their other animals if they can't find another Zoo to sell him to because there's not enough space. Little Farasi even has a Facebook Group. :D
ReplyDeleteits business folks. the buying & selling of zoo animals doesn't mean they're not being cared for properly. the needs of the zoo changes & there is always other zoos to the rescue.
ReplyDeletethats kinda cold sandman.
ReplyDeleteif you ever did research on the psyche of these animals, its pretty bad.
the primates that can communitcate share their emotions with handlers and its not pretty sometimes.
animals have feelings, douchbag. yeah, its technically a business, but then so is everything, we need to keep an eye on those businesses when it envolves people or animals feelings.
actually Enty, the bear is incredibly depressed since his keeper died and part of this issue is to try and create a healthier and happier environment for the bear so he thrives again.
ReplyDelete