Potter Park Zoo - Lansing - Mend It Or End It!

Bonnie Bucqueroux of Lansing Online News (dotcom) shows the good and bad of Potter Park Zoo - small habitats, lack of security, no attempt to recycle, parking lot runoff into the river. In the end, she makes her case that animals like the Bengal tiger, the two snow leopards and the Arctic white foxes either deserve more room or the facility should be closed. Or they should get rid of the large animals and stick with the rhea, the meerkats and the domesticated animals like the llamas.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• zoo
• Lansing
• Michigan
• Potter Park
• online
• news
• Bonnie
• Bucqueroux
• tiger
• snow leopard
• meerkat
• rhino

[bucqui]

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]

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]

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]

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?

[toureaua]

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.

[bucqui]

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.

[tiffit88]

Wow. This is a very uneducated documentary.

[kvnstgrg]

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.

[annacozzi]

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

[thenifoundfivebucks]

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.

[thenifoundfivebucks]

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.

[thenifoundfivebucks]

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.

[thenifoundfivebucks]

@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.

[crashkrw]

Whaaat? When did peacocks become rheas? Lady get your facts straight!

[keb123s]

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!

[jadecalliope1]

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