Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Bronx Zoo 2007 (From Henry Penndorf)


*Nov 16 - 00:05*, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.


The attached pictures are from this years edition of "Holiday Lights" at the Bronx Zoo. The first picture is of the Kenneth W. Johnson Zoo and Information Center (the zoo's original elephant house). The second picture is of th! e bronze statue of "Bessie", a rhino who resided at the Bronx Zoo for almost forty years. Both are decorated to add to this holiday season.

Posted by Buckles at 12/25/2007 06:07:00 AM

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I went to work at the park "Wild Asia" was nearly completed, and most of the elephants had been moved out of the old elephant house into the off-camera elephant/rhino building in Asia. Scene of my first bruises as a newly minted swing keeper. The old elephant building was still in use for elephant rides however. On a sunny day when the ride was opearting you could still come in to the park through the main gate and walk up past the Admin and Horns and Heads building and get a glimpse of what Hornaday originally put together for New York with elephants and big cats and birds and primates laid out right in front of you. The Lila Wallace bird building had opened some years before, as had the newer reptile building and the nocturnal exhibits, but at that point 25 years ago there was still a real sense of the original. That said, the refurb of the original elephant is great. Sad to say that WCS is no longer committed to keeping elephants in the future.

25 December, 2007 11:40
Anonymous said...

Tiger attack at the SF Zoo yesterday unfortunately taints some of my own fond memories of holidays in the parks. When my mother-in-law was alive and living in San Francisco we made several Christmas Day trips to the Zoo, and one thing I remember quite clearly was that like many parks the zoo appeared to muck through the holiday on a short staff working in areas they were somewhat unfamiliar with. At least that's what I assume when I see things like Keeper cage doors left ajar. According to SF Zoo officials, yesterday's escape can't be explained -- that all enclosure doors were closed. But it's really hard to discount "human error" on a holiday. The cat in yesterday's attack is now being called a "monster" in the SF media. I have to imagine it was just being a tiger chasing somebody who was running. I remember when a keeper was killed in the Bronx in 1985, shortly after I'd left the zoo to live in Central America I know the cats involved were well mannered when they were in the big cat house, and the accident was almost certainly human error -- a new staff member running in a panic in a large outdoor enclosure in Wild Asia. In this San Francisco incident it's just awful that the victim was a park patron who had every expectation of safety. Unfortunately this is the anti-zoo field day that groups IDA and PETA live for. I won't be surprised if In Defense of Animals begins to loudly pressure the Board of Supes in SF to close down the zoo, somehow blaming inhumane treatment for the entire incident. And I've gotta bet there will be even more pressure to rid the park of anything "overtly dangerous" using the same tactics that successfully pressured the zoo and the Board of Supes to discontinue elephants. Can only hope the park doesn't continue to "give in."

26 December, 2007 11:09
Anonymous said...

Ben: How did we avoid meeting in the Bronx? We have so many similar
memories and know so many of the same people. Thanks from Diane and me for all you share through this incredible blog. Many times in the midst of multiple comments by others you shine through as the voice of reason.
Sincerely hope we see you down the road in '08 and we can sit down for awhile and "chat".
Will try to send you/Buckles some of the olde Bronx Zoo pics I have.
Thank you too Henry Pendorf for your contributions.

Buckles. it's real simple...
you da man!! Thanks

Paul Gutheil

27 December, 2007 15:06

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