Today I went somewhere that I had not been in around 25 years, half my lifetime-- the Philadelphia Zoo, the nations oldest. As a little girl who grew up in Philadelphia I have many happy memories of it. Unsurprisingly, some things have changed and some things have not. But it seems we live in an age in which you can pretty much depend on all change as being for the worse. Everything is made cheaper, now. Things are dumbed down and covered with advertising. We expect less, and less, and less. When I hear that something New and Improved is coming I square my shoulders and set my teeth, bracing for the near-inevitable disaster. I said near-inevitable. The Philadelphia Zoo has changed, and instituted substantial change while still holding onto the things that make it so recognizable, that give it its unique character. This is change for the better, and thats rarer than any of the animals that the Zoo currently houses. I see that there is a big ugly new parking garage. Thats not where we parked (I went with my brother, Sam, 21 years my junior) but the zoo had always had parking issues. This garage seems like a reasonable step. No parking garage is ever lovely, but some pains have been taken to make it less hideous than it might have been in its natural state. The wonderful wrought-iron front gates are still there, right next to the exit turnstile. Today you buy a ticket at a little booth and it is scanned. Its 2014. Everything gets scanned. When I fly, I get scanned. And there you are. I understand that there is a Starbucks near the gate, but that it was being renovated today. Well, I like an iced-coffee. At least there isnt a McDonalds. In my day there was an elevated monorail system up on pylons maybe a dozen feet high that wound through the park. You got a fairly comprehensive look at the 42 acre park on the monorail, it had several stations for boarding and detraining. Today the support pylons remain but the cars are gone, replaced with caged walkways for the animals to stretch their legs, move from habitat to habitat, and simply to stave off boredom. Enrichment, they call it. I was pleased as punch this afternoon to be standing *under* a Snow Leopard, that was a perspective you certainly never saw the big cats from in my day! Now theyre mobile, theyre a lot less like hostages. Theyre up in the air, seeing everything, smelling everything, wandering the length of the park. MARVELOUS upgrade and re-use of existing equipment! Everyone wins. This Zoo technically met the minimum requirements for keeping elephants, but I bet it wasnt by much. Again, oldest Zoo in the country. There wasnt the same understanding of an Elephants psycho-social needs as there is today. So the Zoo has voluntary given up its elephants, and has a ten year plan to build an E lephant structure. Thats what two docents told me, and they didnt look entirely convinced when they said it, it may just be the current party line and the Zoo will never have Elephants again. Apparently it seriously pisses some people off that there are no Elephants. If I understood one of the docents correctly, the situation is the same with the Giraffes. The housing they have for them was once considered just fine but no longer is. That maybe ten year plan is supposed to bring the Giraffes back, too. When I was little they had both Elephants and Giraffes. Those habitats are now very nice childrens petting zoos and exhibits. My one criticism of the childrens area (which I would have adored as a wee thing) was that they didnt have someone monitoring the hatching chicks. The eggs were too far away from the waterer, the chicks needed to be picked up and have their beaks dipped in the water. Several chicks were lying on their sides, dying if not dead beneath the heat lamps simply because they werent drinking. How do I know that? The water was crystal clear. Should have been cloudy with crap-covered chick feet. If you live in the Philadelphia area and dont like the philosophical changes that the Zoo has made, try seeing them through *my* eyes, after a 25 year absence. Im seeing the big picture and although its not perfect, the big decisions have been good ones, thats readily apparent to someone like me.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 07:25:45 +0000
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