Two critically endangered monkeys die at LA zoo after being left out in th cold; Caretaker resigns

I hate hearing stories like this. It reminds me of the stories of dog owners leaving their dogs out in the cold all night or leaving their dog inside of their car during a heatwave with the widows rolled up.

Yep, I knocked out a window before when I seen a dog trapped inside of the car. It was 106 degrees outside. I busted the window out and waited for the owner to come out of the store. Know what he said? "I forgot ALL about Riley being in there, I am soooo sorry. I thank you for doing this" - He didn't even press charges on me. But I told him to be a lot more caring for his dog. They have feelings too and rely on humans to take care of them.

Nothing gets me madder than animal abuse.

a reply to: Tangerine
Have you ever worked with wild animals, or know what goes on behind a zoo, or the number of staff required? Primates are not the easiest to work with, and can be very dangerous if not handled properly. While I am not saying that he is totally innocent, the problems is that usually in most zoo's of that size, the number of caretakers to animal ratio is that there are more animals than caretakers, and the caretakers are often having to deal with multiple issues at the same time. These animals, in a zoo are not tame, they are wild animals, and if they are in the conservency program, then there is very little in the way of human contact between human and animal. Most of the animals either have to be subdated or have been handled by one caretaker for a long time, for them to interact.

I for one would like to know how many caretakers were around, skilled to deal with primates, and how many primates do they have, was there anything else around that was keeping the caretaker from doing his job effectively that lead to the deaths of these animals. Working in a zoo is dangerous for both the animals and the people who care for them.

originally posted by: sdcigarpig
a reply to: Tangerine
Have you ever worked with wild animals, or know what goes on behind a zoo, or the number of staff required? Primates are not the easiest to work with, and can be very dangerous if not handled properly. While I am not saying that he is totally innocent, the problems is that usually in most zoo's of that size, the number of caretakers to animal ratio is that there are more animals than caretakers, and the caretakers are often having to deal with multiple issues at the same time. These animals, in a zoo are not tame, they are wild animals, and if they are in the conservency program, then there is very little in the way of human contact between human and animal. Most of the animals either have to be subdated or have been handled by one caretaker for a long time, for them to interact.

I for one would like to know how many caretakers were around, skilled to deal with primates, and how many primates do they have, was there anything else around that was keeping the caretaker from doing his job effectively that lead to the deaths of these animals. Working in a zoo is dangerous for both the animals and the people who care for them.

It may well have been the fault of zoo management. No matter how you look at it, the zoo is to blame. I'm not a fan of zoos. I am aware of what goes on behind the scenes and it's not pretty. Zoos operate to make money.

a reply to: Tangerine
The zoos that are in the conservency program, are tasked with a breeding program to increase populations. Everything about said animals are carefully monitored, from diet to health conditions. They even have complete genetic histories and lineages, that would put the AKC to shame, to ensure that there is no inbreeding of animals.

I do believe that there was a breakdown, and that the zoo and its policies will have to be reviewed and looked at along with double checked. Also I am curious though, as this is in Lousiana, what is the standard proceedure do to weather. Did they not learn from Katrina about such? Did they change their operating policy and proceedures?

Too many questions that have no answers at this time frame. The other question that I would have is can they save tissue and dna samples from the dead animals to use to try to bring back the species, like artificial insemination and invitro fertilization.

originally posted by: sdcigarpig
a reply to: Tangerine
The zoos that are in the conservency program, are tasked with a breeding program to increase populations. Everything about said animals are carefully monitored, from diet to health conditions. They even have complete genetic histories and lineages, that would put the AKC to shame, to ensure that there is no inbreeding of animals.

I do believe that there was a breakdown, and that the zoo and its policies will have to be reviewed and looked at along with double checked. Also I am curious though, as this is in Lousiana, what is the standard proceedure do to weather. Did they not learn from Katrina about such? Did they change their operating policy and proceedures?

Too many questions that have no answers at this time frame. The other question that I would have is can they save tissue and dna samples from the dead animals to use to try to bring back the species, like artificial insemination and invitro fertilization.

Bottom line, I think that zoos are abominations. They're prisons for animals who have committed no crime but have had the misfortune to exist during the time of Homo sapiens.

originally posted by: Tangerine

originally posted by: sdcigarpig
a reply to: Tangerine
The zoos that are in the conservency program, are tasked with a breeding program to increase populations. Everything about said animals are carefully monitored, from diet to health conditions. They even have complete genetic histories and lineages, that would put the AKC to shame, to ensure that there is no inbreeding of animals.

I do believe that there was a breakdown, and that the zoo and its policies will have to be reviewed and looked at along with double checked. Also I am curious though, as this is in Lousiana, what is the standard proceedure do to weather. Did they not learn from Katrina about such? Did they change their operating policy and proceedures?

Too many questions that have no answers at this time frame. The other question that I would have is can they save tissue and dna samples from the dead animals to use to try to bring back the species, like artificial insemination and invitro fertilization.

Bottom line, I think that zoos are abominations. They're prisons for animals who have committed no crime but have had the misfortune to exist during the time of Homo sapiens.

Tangerine, on some zoos, I would agree with you on this, but the zoos with the conservancy program, they work to prevent extinction of a species of animal man seems to be determined to wipe out either through idiocy, or hunting and determination.

sdcigarpig, I like the idea of saving the tissue samples to try and bring them back, however, there have been some horror stories associated with animal cloning, even to this day. For me, this would not be feasible, at least not until they improve the program.

a reply to: sdcigarpig
The worst part of this is hat This female zookeeper had a long history of bring negligent.