Speak Up: Animals in Parque de las Ciencias-English Version

[PRZooHelp]

@batusay26 - That does not make up for the abuse and horrific conditions that these animals are kept in. I am sorry that you don't support the animals. The USDA reports say everything, BUT you don't need documents to see that the conditions in which these animals are being kept and have been kept are disgusting and wrong. These animals should have been retired to an accredited sanctuary years ago. New animals should not be brought to this decrepid place. I support the animals & speak for them.

[batusay26]

Para que los que hablen mal de nuestro zoológico, tratamos a nuestros animales con altura... Si saben ingles los que critican lean esto.......

[batusay26]

@batusay26 ASHEBORO, N.C. – North Carolina Zoo Chief Veterinarian Dr. Mike Loomis recently returned from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, where he helped perform a dental procedure on a 3,000-lb. old friend.

Loomis, along with veterinarians and keepers from the Parque de las Sciencias museums in Bayamon, conducted dental surgery on "Tomy," a 39-year-old male hippopotamus that the N.C. Zoo veterinarian has been treating on a semi-regular basis for two decades.

[batusay26]

The Parque de las Sciencias museum complex is owned and operated by the City of Bayamon. In addition to the museums, the Parque also operates a small zoo, where Tomy is exhibited. The hippo is the zoo's most popular animal, according to museum officials. But Tomy suffers from a malocclusion, which prevents his lower teeth from wearing properly and they eventually overgrow to the point that they interfere with his eating.

[batusay26]

Loomis, who has significant experience with hippo anesthesia, has been consulting on Tomy's case since 1991 and has made numerous trips to Puerto Rico to trim the animal's overgrown teeth.

[batusay26]

The procedure requires anesthesia, which is complicated in hippos due to their size, fat layer and lack of accessible peripheral veins.

Over the years, Loomis and the museum staff have developed a technique to partially anesthetize Tomy and trim his teeth while he is in a sitting position--without having to put him completely under general anesthesia. Once the hippo is at the proper level of anesthesia, a reciprocating saw with a metal cutting blade is used to quickly trim the lower teeth.

[batusay26]

The staff at Bayamon and Dr. Jose Trajillo, the consulting veterinarian there, keep a close eye on Tomy's teeth and contact Loomis to assist with the procedure before they start interfering with his eating.

[batusay26]

"The first time I performed the dental procedure on Tomy, his teeth had grown through his upper lip, making it very painful for him to chew," Loomis said. "He was very thin, and I was concerned about the risk of anesthesia. Since then, the zoo has done a great job of making sure that his teeth are trimmed before they get to that point."

[batusay26]

Loomis is recognized as one of the world's top exotic-animal veterinarians and served on the veterinary staffs at the Los Angeles Zoo and National Zoo in Washington, D.C., before coming to the N.C. Zoo in 1983. He has been involved extensively in international wildlife conservation, including an ongoing 14-year program of elephant conservation in Cameroon, W. Africa.

[batusay26]

Lean Este articulo de abajo hacia arriba pq no pude postearlo completo o vallan a la pagina del zoologico de North Carolina. nczoo.org

[EpochDesigns]

Parece mentira que Ramon Luis Rivera, quien se precia de ser un gran alcalde mantenga este zoo de esta menera lo mejor seria llamar a las emisoras de radio e iniciar una campaña contra este maltrato de parte del Municipio de Bayamon.

[laurym96]

yo visitaba este parque cuando era nina ,y luego me fui para los estados unido y ahora de pues de grande buscando imagenes y videos para recordar sitios que yo avia ido cuando pequena woww es increible esto ..es una crueldad que se cora la vozzzzzzz

[mslogue]

As a lover of all animals, this is heartbreaking. And we call ourselves manKIND!

Debbie Logue

[rockinfortheplanet]

What a sad existence for these poor creatures, just look at what man does to the animals, it's heartwrenching. Thank you for speaking up and for making film footage available of the deplorable conditions these animals have to live in day after day, to infinity... I hope Puerto Rico citizens will address this situation, this is a prison for the innocent.