chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/nati … ng-zoo.htm
Don’t know why this was allowed to happen. The bear should not have been able to get to another bears enclosure.
even my students think that zoo is abysmal. I have not been there in i think 7 years due to how shitty it was then, has it changed much?
i am tempted to go again now to see, but never like actually paying them their entrance fees when i know they are terrible at what they are doing.
Reads like a lot of excuses for failure from management.
I’m surprised nobody has yet mentioned: it took the zoo one whole month to address the attack. What is going on with that??
well, obviously, it takes that long to figure out who was totally not to blame, not at all. Not one bit.
Just a tragic accident caused by an inauspicious cosmic configuration occuring on the wrong date, and a lack of lucky charms on the bear enclosure. Nothing more to see. Move along.
Yeah, zoos are basically animal prisons. Taipei Zoo is bad enough.
That’s one way of looking at it… The other would be that zoos are important institutions that protect individuals from endangered species and provide biologists and preservation experts with the rare ability to research such animals up close.
Then there’s the social aspect: Show enough people how adorable Yuanzai is, and they just might start caring about preserving the environment.
And without that video, we might have never known.
RIP dear venerable elder bear.
The first thing that struck me about the zoo in Taipei is how small the animal enclosures were and how large the areas designated for visitors were. Surely the animals should have at least three times as much space and the the visitors could probably do with two or three times less space. But the single worst thing I’ve seen, in terms of animal cruelty over here, is the oddity museum in Danshui. Last time I went - 3 years ago I think - they were keeping a live sloth in what seemed to be a glass tank with a single branch for it to swing from. Probably the most depressed looking creature I’ve ever seen.
That’s one way of looking at it… The other would be that zoos are important institutions that protect individuals from endangered species and provide biologists and preservation experts with the rare ability to research such animals up close.
Then there’s the social aspect: Show enough people how adorable Yuanzai is, and they just might start caring about preserving the environment.[/quote]
We have the same to protect individuals and endangered tribes and provide anthropologists and linguists with the rare abilities to research humans up close.
http://www.i-china-travel.com/primitive-tribe-amusement-park
http://news.everychina.com/wz4195bf/the_pleased_right_amusement_park_of_primitive_tribe_travels_beijing_of_china.html
Adorable and cute.
If you can’t manage a basic animal enclosure, how can you manage a human society?
If you want to see something depressing go to the Penghu island and visit the turtle temple there. Under an old temple they built a place to house captured green turtles, some of which may be 100 or 200 years old.
They live in a horrid subterranean LED lit dungeon with no natural light.
Nearby is an excellent aquarium and also the green turtle nature reserve, but the temple got a special permit to allow them to keep these formerly wild turtles when the law on keeping endangered animals was changed.
having worked in conservation centres and doing breeding projects for conservation, and also working with zoos, i would say zoos are a park, not a conservation effort (some exceptions). most of the time they are elitist idiots trading amongst each other like rich philanthropists and making money as a business. breeding happens but seldom do animals ever get released into the wild, they get traded around with monetary tags attached. that is zoo life.
i dont like zoos either, but as a world standard, Taipei zoo is better than most. Kaohsiung on the other hand…
Zoo animals can not be released again because they will die. The aim though is to provide as good a life for them as possible. With a good amount of space to walk around and enjoy sunshine.
Zoo life is imprisonment though. But well cared for animals can live a long life and can be happy, if cared for properly.
Killer whales though and dolfins probably should not be kept at all. As they require vast spaces.
That is, in fact, a good thing.
[quote=“Pingdong”]having worked in conservation centres and doing breeding projects for conservation, and also working with zoos, i would say zoos are a park, not a conservation effort (some exceptions). most of the time they are elitist idiots trading amongst each other like rich philanthropists and making money as a business. breeding happens but seldom do animals ever get released into the wild, they get traded around with monetary tags attached. that is zoo life.
i dont like zoos either, but as a world standard, Taipei zoo is better than most. Kaohsiung on the other hand…[/quote]
I haven’t been to many zoos around the world but I thought Taipei was depressingly bad. Also, they keep many animals species that are not endangered such as Formosan macaques, Reeve’s muntjac and King Penguins. What’s up with that? I’m not against zoos or other forms of captivity for conservation (if tigers survive, for example, it will probably be because of the captive population) but most zoos are more about profit and visitor entertainment that conservation efforts. Open range zoos are the way to go.
its all because zoos purpose is not conservation, that was my point. they breed things and do things with animals, but its a business and ego stroke, almost never is a zoo effort one for conservation.
I agree zoos not releasing into the wild is a good thing; however captive breeding programs for reintroduction is hugely important for many species.
the useful purposes of zoos are to expose people to animals and nature that wouldnt otherwise have the chance. great for schools and the like to create information and interest in nature to city kids.
I am not calling Taipei zoo great, but as per world standards its above many, especially in Asia.
Kenting’s Aquarium is probably Taiwans most famous crown jewel as far as animals stuff goes. I would say its the best of animal care on the island on a big scale. They rescue and release whale sharks. thats pretty special
The least they could gave done was disguise a hairy black dog and pretended it was a bear. 