Added: 2 years ago
From: bucqui
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  • Whaaat? When did peacocks become rheas? Lady get your facts straight!

  • I tell our Fennec foxes their stinky because they poop all over and mash it into the ground...they never seemed to take it personally and I fell they enjoy watching me on the ground with a putty knife scrapping it up. Probably because they are just waiting until they can be "free" o wait they were captive bread as a SSP because we are trying to SAVE THEM. Hate stupid peoples!! Good intentions + ignorance= stupid shit said!

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  • And once again @bucqui you show your ignorance. Yes, a lot of animals can end up with neurosis and there are a lot of various reasons for it. Let me ask you this, then.  What about dogs and cats that develop neurotic behaviors, even to the point of self-mutilation? Does that mean they are just yearning for the wild?

    Furthermore, animals born and raised in captivity are often unable to care for themselves in the wild as they've never had to thrive in such a place. Your ignorance screams

  • From PETA "even the best artificial environments can't come close to matching the space, diversity, and freedom that animals have in their natural habitats. This deprivation . . . Animals with this condition, called "zoochosis," often rock, sway, or pace endlessly, and some even mutilate themselves. Zoos claim to promote education, but the only thing to be learned at these sad facilities is how animals who want to be free act when they are confined.

  • @bucqui first of all, that is a peacock, not a rhea. Second of all, if you knew what you were talking about you would see that much of what you said in this video shows your ingnorance about wildlife and animal husbandry. That "paper bag cluttering the meerkat exhibit" was most likely enrichment. It was probably filled with crickets or some other delicious treat earlier in the day for the meerkats to eat and play with.

  • As an animal care professional, I have devoted my entire life to making sure the wildlife in my care live happy and fulfilled lives. People who say things like what is said in this video insult me and my career. I spend countless hours brainstorming ways to enhance the lives of my charges. Everyone in this field, including those at potter park zoo, understand the responsibility of caring for these rare and endangered animals and work tirelessly to provide them with the highest quality care.

  • Please try to see past the BS that the media and PETA has fed you to see the good things zoos do for wildlife. There are animals on this earth that would be EXTINCT if it weren't for zoos. For example, the Scimitar Horned Oryx only survives in zoos. The few facilities that house these magnificent animals have spent millions of dollars and countless man hours caring for and attempting to rebuild the population of Oryx.

  • I am really sorry that this lady, who obviously cares about the natural world, is so lacking in education. I think she honestly cares, and would probably be a great friend to a zoo, if only she learned the facts and understood her many, many misconceptions. They are, sadly, the same misconceptions that are very common in the public. That's why we do what we do, though - to teach her and others like her about our world.

  • The Rhea?? Really?? And my bet would be that those eagles wouldn't survive in the wild. Many well established facilities take in non releasable birds of prey that have been hit by cars or shot or had some other run in with humans. and the bags in the Meerkats is Enrichment. We give it to our animals all the time. Boxes and bags and even bottles depending on the animal with treats in them that make them work to get the food out.

    And what exactly is your background to make all these claims?

  • The thing some of you need to remember or realize is that the people who come up with the guidelines for zoos actually know what they're talking about. I'm sure they don't watch animal planet as much as you, but there is a CHANCE they care about animals just as much as you do.

  • i for one would be MUCH happier in the wild. I would much rather not know when my next meal would come, i really don't know what all this 'hub bub' about fresh water is about, and i'm not sure which would be better, the threat of being poached or the constant chances of parasites(because having a vet on hand would really suck, i'd rather man up and take care of it myself)

  • Also, you were wrong about the best argument for zoos. It is not the fact that they inspire kids to eventually protect the animals but that they are already protecting them through several programs including Species Survival Plans (SSP), Population Management Plans (PMP), Wild Reintroduction Programs, and providing vital ex-situ research on imperiled animals so that they may save a wild population.

  • Many of the empty enclosures that you mention are probably not being used because of the cold winter. I am more than willing to bet that the animals that would normally be in them would be in a back area that is nice and cozy for them. Also, what were you expecting the patagonian hare to be doing? bouncing around and playing? Animals do not like to waste energy playing and conserve energy by "wondering if there was someplace he could hide or flee".

  • Oh, and one more thing @bucqui the eagles you show looking so sad are likely rehab eagles OR they are unable to return to the wild due to their injuries. The one on the right side of the photo has a wing held in a very strange way, indicating some sort of abnormality. The "Bald Eagle Protection Act" actually prohibits the possession of bald eagles unless they are in rehab or unable to return to the wild.

  • Yes yes there are a couple errors, but the basic premise is true. And trust me, the big issue is the abuse of those big cats in small places. Zoos are animal prisons. Get over it. I may not be aware of the distinction between a peacock and a rhea but you have your head tucked in your nether parts if you think that tiger is happy/

  • @bucqui Wild cats have territories. Part of their daily routine is to patrol their territory, mark it, make sure that it is free from youngsters or others who might encroach upon their area. This is normal, natural behavior. In zoos it is exhibited by "pacing." The fact that you seem to think you know what a snow leopard is thinking beyond unreal. By the way, snow leopards are more nocturnal cats, meaning that at the time the zoo is open to visitors, their activity level is low.

  • @bucqui the point being, you are making GRANDIOSE assumptions based on a massive amount of ignorance of the natural biology of the animals about which you presume to speak up for. You haven't a clue as to the difference between peafowl (a member of the pheasant family) and a 4.5 to 5 ft tall rhea (a ratite). You cannot even recognize sentry behavior in a meerkat, yet you know better than everyone else about what is best for these animals. Educate yourself before making such ignorant comments

  • I find myself utterly appalled at the ignorance in this video. The paper bag you decried in the meerkat exhibit can be explained very easily. It was either an enrichment tool (something easy and inexpensive to use, put in some sort of treat and a filler, crumple, toss) or it could have been thrown in by a careless visitor. Peafowl are not rheas. Meerkats, btw, have that "1000 yard stare" for a reason. It is called sentry duty. Natural behavior. Tigers and foxes patrol their territory.

  • I think you really need have a little more education before judge something as bad or evil.

    Get your animal names correct: Peacock, not Rhea.

    Learn some basic animal behavior. The behaviors you saw at the zoo are some of the same behaviors seen in the wild.

    Security is not needed to protect leopards from people calling them dirty names. They can't speak human, so they don't care.

    And just because they're in the wild doesn't make them automatically happy. Remeber: predators.

  • @Ol11v11a Wow - apparently, if bucqui doesn't like what you have to say, she marks you as spam. Sad.

  • #3 -- "This little guy has a thousand-yard stare." He is on the lookout, and that is a natural behavior. They would do that in the wild!

  • #4 -- The eagles have a great exhibit and would be dead if it weren't for institutions like Potter Park Zoo. They are only here because they cannot fly and would die in the wild. Potter Park Zoo has rehabilitated and RELEASED several Bald Eagles.

  • #5 -- The Patagonian Hares are outside because they choose to be. They have access to a private area indoors. It's the shed in their exhibit.

  • #6 -- They are completely rebuilding the rhino exhibit.

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  • #7 -- Yes, the animals like the tiger pace. That is not because they are bored, it is because in the wild they spend most of their days walking. This tiger was hand-raised by keepers at Potter Park Zoo and would not be alive without their help. Wouldn't his death break your heart?

  • #8 -- I find it interesting that you could "feel the snow leopard's fury" that it had nowhere to jump to, considering the giant rock wall that they often scale, making huge leaps and laying at the top, where they have complete privacy.

  • #9 -- I somehow doubt the snow leopards took personal offense to being called "stinky." Had they been doing something that actually interfered with the animals' well-being, something would have been done. But believe it or not they don't kick people out for exercising their right of free speech--even if it is wrong, like this video of yours.

  • #10 -- You keep saying that you know how the animals feel, when you don't. You clearly don't even know what any of their natural behaviors are, nor do you know anything about the care the keepers give them, their exhibits, or their enrichment.

    If you came to the zoo and talked to the staff and actually learned the reality of Potter Park Zoo, I think you would be embarrassed to have your name on this video.

  • @Ol11v11a I doubt it - I think her self-righteousness would get in the way.

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  • Wait, when did this show the good side of potter park?

  • Bonnie Has Not Idea.......and uneducated hick that calls peacocks rheas!! Haha

  • @bucqui I have many things I wish I could say, but due to the limit of 500 characters and knowing that if I anger you you may very well make a " well informed video" about how much of a jerk I am, I will be brief. You are against zoos, and I am not. If you would like to continue bickering, feel free to give me your email address so we can continue.

  • Dear Hpfan - if you think I did not visit the zoo, how do you think I did the video? Again and repeatedly, the sameness in the arguments suggests they are all coming from people who confer with each other because they have a vested interest in maintaining the zoo. Many of us hope that the budget crisis at the county level will mean the zoo becomes a small-animal zoo. And whether you like it or not, those cats are suffering.

  • @bucqui if you are so unhappy, how about make a donation?

  • Wow............... Bonnie is an idiot. I doubt that she even wentto the zoo while making this. If she learned how to research, and perhaps showed the real potter park, as opposed to the made up "facts" which were in this video, then people would take her halfway seriously

  • The large cats have additional space that is not public so they can have some privacy. I have never seen this "frustration" you "feel." Perhaps you should research instead of "feeling." Refer to Stephen Colbert for "feeling" the news "at" people. The AZA has much higher standards than you, and they have approved of this zoo and its exhibits. Perhaps you should actually talk with the staff or better yet volunteer so that you can see the work and effort made daily for the benefit of these animals.

  • Part 1:

    Peafowl, not rheas. The eagles are not able to be released because they are too severely injured. The zoo provides a comfortable home for them for life. The rhino exhibit will be rebuilt before a rhino is brought in. Paper bags, etc. are enrichment for a great many animals at many zoos, not just Potter Park. Patagonian hares in the wild spend most of their days eating and sitting. They hide when something is trying to eat them, which is not the case at the zoo.

  • im not taking this video seriously if you call a peacock a rhea

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  • I note a certain sameness in the critics -- zoo employees perhaps? I frankly don't care what the AZA says is adequate for a rhino -- they obviously do not require enough space for the big cats. It might be OK for Potter Park to remain open as a zoo for small animals. But keeping the big animals makes it an animal dungeon. Bringing in another big animal - the rhino - just means torturing one more. And what about all the environmental concerns?

  • I want to know way you think these animals are being tortured. Have you taken animal pyscologically classes. What environmental concerns???

  • @bucqui

    I'm sorry, what makes you think you know more than the many experts all over the world that are a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums? You obviously don't know anything about animals. And if you actually care, why don't you stop your preaching and get down to the zoo to volunteer?

  • @bucqui That "certain sameness" probably comes from them being better educated than you. When people depend on facts instead of depending on feelings, you're going to see similarities.

  • You were very harsh judging our animals without knowing them.

    The brown bags in with the meerkats were used as enrichment earlier in the day.

    The back of the patagonian hare exhibit has a door in back of the building that is always open.

    The eagles are both missing a wing. They would be dead in the wild.

    The wolf had just lost his mate, she was 16 years old when she died.

    All exhibits are approved by the AZA.

    The rhino exhibit will be expanded before any rhinos arrive.

  • Paper bags in the meerkats. It's called enrichment, food items were hidden in the bags so the animals have to forage for food. It isn't junk. Rheas running free in the zoo. ou better check your bird book. Those are called Peafowl (the male are called peacocks, females peahens). Rheas are a member of the Ratite family and are related to Ostriches and Emus. Very, very misinformed individual. Maybe next time you post something like this talk to some of the workers or stop in to the office.

  • Bonnie, aside from the fact that you are completely ignorant and misinformed maybe you should consider the fact that much of the renovations you suggest require money which Potter Park just recently started recieving from the county tax payers. They need to discuss budgets so they put that money to good use and are intending on using the money based on priority. How about you put your money where your mouth is and donate so these renovations can happen sooner.

  • Actually, I cannot see how the Zoo will ever have enough money to do right by the big cats. I would consider being a donor if they gave up their insane ideas about adding a rhino and keeping big cats. Frankly, a city this size shouldn't even tr to have a zoo, especially in Michigan where the economy sucks and will do so for decades to come.

  • so yea because or econcomy sucks that means we should give up helping these animals that are in desperate need of help

  • Bonnie, aren't you glad that you went out of your way to make a video that shows your ignorance. Maybe the empty bird cage that you suggest they take down doesn't have a bird in it because of the season. Many birds are migratory, and require warmer weather. The bird that was in that cage is probably in the bird house right now. Also, if you would walk around to the other side of the rhino exhibit, you see that they are trying to raise funds to rebuild the rhino exhibit.

  • Negative, uninformed and positively ridiculous.

  • Maybe, before you do a some-what damaging piece on a subject...you should be better informed about it! The "little guy with a thousand yard stare" is a meerkat and meerkats normally have a sentry on guard to watch for danger to the clan. Also, those aren't rheas they are peafowls. Patagonian Hares naturally act that way! There isn't anything wrong with them sitting there for awhile.

    Come on! Get informed before doing a piece on a subject that might hurt future funding for these animals!!

  • woah, woah! Bonnie can talk to animals? does the fact that I pace around my apartment sometimes mean I am secretly depressed? If teenagers call me stinky should the police open fire on them? perhaps some of these questions can be answered in the next episode.

  • Wow. This is a very uneducated documentary.

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