zoo today was...uh...yeah....

[meriones]

Just to get it out of the way, yes a Mexican Wolf escaped and had to be killed today. Unfortunate but a wolf is considered a "potentially dangerous species" and it was walking along the public paths when the trail hadn't been fully evacuated. I personally wish the articles would put more focus into why a tranquilizer gun couldn't have been used because what few comments I've read (many in an article that actually explains why a tranquilizer couldn't be used. Reading Comprehension Fail!) seem to be focusing on that fact. Contrary to what happens in the movies a tranquilizer doesn't spontaneously make an animal drop to the ground asleep. It can take up to 15 minutes for it to take affect and an animal running in a panic from being hit by a tranquilizer would just have posed even more of a danger to the public.

I am curious what will happen to that exhibit because as far as I know the only other Mexican Wolves are the two here temporarily from the flood threatened Dakota Zoo.

I was at the farm when this happened. For those unfamiliar with this zoo the wolf exhibit is right at the fork in the path that visitors take to the farm. The wolf could have just as easily run down our way, so there was quite the sudden rush to get everyone evacuated into the basement of the farmhouse. Glad the action didn't head our way though because those farmhouse doors are glass and it was full of little kids on a field trip. Can you imagine if all those kids actually witnessed the end result? Talk about possibly being scarred for life! I was present when the baby dolphin swam into the tank wall and was fatally injured and I still get shivers just thinking of the awful sound it made.

Here have a photo of a cute baby horse nursing to make up for the downer of an entry.

Comments

[uthabiti.livejournal.com]

Well, I suppose this makes up for all those other missed events we had as Wednesday volunteers, yeah? ;)

*crickets*

What? Too soon?

Heh. Anyhoo, I wonder if any visitors did in fact see the wolf get taken down. Oy - it really is unfortunate that so many conflicts between humans and other animals in a zoo setting often ends in the worst case scenario... for the non-human. :( I still get pissed thinking about the meerkats that had to be euthanized because of a couple jackass parents. *fume*

I never knew (or maybe never registered in my head) that you were there the day Harley died! Ugh, hearing it alone was probably worse than seeing it. Sounds have a viscerally powerful effect that way. D:

So now what's next Sunday gonna be like; how many people will ask about the wolf, I wonder? Guess I'd better memorize that email that was sent out. :p

[kafilipi.livejournal.com]

Yeah Harley's accident happened at the tail end of a full house afternoon dolphin show. I'm still impressed by not only how quickly we got everyone out of there but by how many guest didn't even realize something was going on. Semo had been doing his "toss the ball out into the audience" behavior at the time and it must have provided just enough distraction to what was happening over in the back pool.