Forum: 

Hippo Incident At Greater Vancouver Zoo

esquire's picture
Submitted by esquire on

What does everyone think of the news about the Greater Vancouver Zoo's animal cruelty charge for mistreatment of the baby hippo? Apparently this was the same hippo from the Telus ads this past Christmas. [i]I want a hippopotamus for Christmas.......[/i]

Reading the paper yesterday, I found out they've been needing a new hippo habitat for a while but were too preoccupied with building a miniature railroad for the guests. I went to the zoo a few years back and it was awful. This was just after they brought in the baby male giraffe in hopes he would one day mate with the adult female. Apparently the new owner is too concerned with making money than providing adequate exhibits for the animals. This is why I think zoos should be non-profit organizations. This way, they could put all of the profits back into the upkeep of the zoo and provide a suitable living environment for the animals.

Thanks Darkline, I've heard the term before but never knew what it meant. It usually gets mentioned on those game hunting video games, but I always thought that was a score you got for the buck that you shot.

Just a question for you Darkline.........

You mentioned that there's a 6 point buck that comes by your place. I've heard people use this term before, but I have no clue as to what it means. What does a 6 point buck mean?

Most definately! We ran a restaurant up on Savary Island for the summer quite a while back, and the wildlife up there was about the only thing that kept us both sane during those months (small island, rednecks galore). Bald Eagles, deer, porpoises, whales and otters were a wonder to see in their natural habitat. We never got to see the cougars and bears that tend to swim over from Lund in the winter months, since we were only there from late spring to Aug.

Isn't that the neatest thing? My mom lives on the Sunshine Coast and near her place in the morning, you can sometimes see elk and even the odd bear. And birds like you wouldn't believe. Eagles, ravens, jays, woodpeckers.....Also, her place is a five minute walk to the beach and on clear days, I've seen porpoises surfacing. I've yet to see orcas though.

Thanks esquire!

My better half, Nocturna, and I just moved on the 19th and have really been enjoying the family of deer that seem to graze quite a bit in our neighborhood. A 6 point buck, a doe and 2 fawns (white tail deer). It's really nice getting up in the morning, going out on the deck for a smoke and morning beverage, and looking over the railing as they forage in the ravine that is part of our backyard. I'm sure we'll probably see a cougar at some point as well. Thank the gods our deck is about 15' off the ground ;)

Personally I believe animals should be viewed, with great care of course, in their natural environments. Hence why I don't support zoos or wild animal farms. I lived in Calgary from ages 3 to 12 and our  school took many trips to the zoo there as well as family trips. As I grew older it saddened me that animals were taken out of their own natural environments just for the entertainment of people. I do understand that the animals in the majority of zoos are treated well to an extent, but that doesn't make the whole ideology of zoos and wild animals farms any more sickening from my pov.

I couldn't agree more Swoop. I've never seen the Metro Toronto Zoo, but this is what I'm talking about when I say zoos should be non-profit. The Vancouver Aquarium, for example is non-profit and their fish displays are taken care of well. Their marine mammals exhibits however are a different story. I haven't been there in years, but I don't think they have the orcas anymore. Good thing in my opinion, I really don't think the staff knows enough about these animals to properly take care of them in captivity. Much like the animals at Greater Vancouver Zoo. That and the fact that there is no funding.

I wouldn't be to quick to condemn all zoos.  The Metro Toronto Zoo is fantastic (2nd largest in the world).  The habitats are large, and the staff are very well trained.  I believe it's run as a non-profit organization, and it's loaded with educational programs.  The only drawback is that some of the environments are so large that you can't always see the animal that lives there (though from their point of view I guess thats more of a plus).

I won't be supporting the Greater Vancouver Zoo anymore after this incident. I remember going there when I was young, when it was called the Vancouver Game Farm, this is back in the early to mid eighties. My mom has a picture of herself with Tina the elephant, the one that was sent to Tennessee and sadly passed away shortly afterwards. Another sad story of animal cruelty. Problem with that zoo, is they used let the guests feed the animals, so when people came around, the animals would beg and not act natural. You'd walk by the monkey house and there'd be a tube you could throw peanuts down. The monkey would see you coming, and climb down to the tube. You'd look down the tube and you'd see a monkey looking back up at you waiting for food. I'm no primatologist, but that's not natural behaviour.

I was absolutely disgusted seeing that news report. They also don't have any other hippos to keep the poor thing company and hippos are very social animals. Personally I don't like zoo's/wild animal parks, so tend not to go to them and support them financially.