The Circus "NO SPIN ZONE"

Thursday, March 5, 2009

For Bjorn--"HOT GRASS"

The conundrum with exhibiting elephants is if you surround them in a very safe pipe barrier, the public perceives them as "being in jail."(I have never heard a horse stall refered to as a jail. Just some more of the misinformed ignorance.) If you remove the bars and use the "visually appealing" moat system, pioneered by Carl Hagenbeck you have the rare instance of escape(San Francisco's Tatiana with felines) or in the case of Annabelle, injury resulting in death. I recall a Gorilla falling into a water moat around the exhibit at the Bronx Zoo a number of years ago, in which the Gorilla drowned. Humans are actually ignorant enough to fall in, as occurred at the Jersey Zoo a number of years ago. The public also(strange as it seems) objects to hot fences or electric wire placed to keep the animals away from a moat. As zoo's are always having to balance animal health/safety with public misperceptions they are continually working on solutions to both. A product on the market which may be a solution is "Hot Grass". The effect of an electrical deterent with the visual appeal of not "being in a jail." I should think a 3 or 3 and a half foot "patch" of grass around the interior of the moat would keep animals away from the dangerous edge. It's greatest advantage is it will also attract the elusive Long Limbed Champagnehaired Nymphet, pictured below who like to graze on it after a fresh rain. It makes it easier to trap them, instead of going out bar hopping looking for them, leaving you more time to look after the animals in your care. LOL

Total Habitat Zoo Stuff

Moats as a containment barrier. State of the art in Hagenbecks day, problems/issues today.

Annabelle, 45 years old, had fallen in a deep gutter on one side of the elephant stay in Emmen Zoo. The dry canal, in which she fell, was about two meters deep. She probably fell into the gutter, because two other elephants near her were playing around wildly.

"As I stated earlier, there are very few photos of Annabelle available that do not show her standing by the edge of the moat usually as far away from the others as possible. I still interpret "playing around wildly" as fighting. Herd dynamics is one of the most intriguing, fascinating aspects of the animal world. With the last herd I was involved with, we had to built two pens, for two groups of 4. There were two, Debbie and Minnie that fought terribly, and the option was to isolate alone from each other. A better solution was to give Minnie her herd, and Debbie her herd and two build two different hot pens. The oldest elephant in the group was Liz, and Joy the African in Debbie's head had occasional issues with her, and Liz would "run" through the hot fence to get away from Joy, so the solution was to just turn Liz loose and let her wander around the enclosures. That solved the problem without having to isolate one animal." You do not dictate to a herd, you understand it, work with it, and arrive at the best solution for all involved.
The video's below are disturbing to me, as myself, my staff and Scott Blas and the TES staff were involved with the same horrendous situation that took 10 days and nights of our lives. For any person to suggest that we(myself, my people, Scott Blas, and the TES people) are bad people, and they somehow are more caring, is deplorable and strongly suggests they really have no clue, just a personal ax to grind.

Incredible advances in "Aquaculture" managing to combine education with entertainment.

Georgia Aquarium above and Sea World below. It was mentioned the other day the mind boggling advances that have been made in the zoo industry. Aquariums have kept right up with the zoo's in state of the art husbandry practices. Some like the Sea World Corp. have admirably combined education/entertainment. I sure hope they don't destroy the beautiful, historic, old Belle Isle building. Wouldn't it be great if it was turned into an "aquarium museum" with a history of Aquaculture, similar to Baraboo with the wonderful circus wagon building. Studying, understanding, and appreciating history helps us understand where we are today, with issues that must be faced.

Popular Mechanics--1931

Popular Mechanix--1931

Popular Mechanix--1946

Belle Isle Aquarium--Detroit, Michigan America's oldest Aquarium

Designed by renowned architect Albert Kahn the Belle Isle Aquarium opened on Aug. 18, 1904, and was the longest continuously running aquarium in the United States and the only aquarium in Michigan, until closing it's doors April of 2005. Clarence M. Burton, in his history on the city of Detroit, attributes the idea of an aquarium to Rep. David E. Heineman, who had visited Naples, Italy, and studied that city’s Anton Dorhn Aquarium. Heineman, who had earlier been the city’s chief assistant attorney, introduced a bill in the Legislature to provide funding for the conservatory and aquarium. The act authorized that $150,000 in bonds be issued (about $3.7 million today) was passed on May 26, 1899.

The firm of Nettleton & Kahn drew up the plans for the buildings. The building’s price tag: $165,000 (about $4.06 million today). At the time of its opening, the aquarium was among the six largest in the world. Its high-tech equipment allowed for the keeping of both seawater and fresh-water marine life and the keeping of the right water temperatures in the tanks. The water was recycled through the tanks because, it was said, that fish survive better in water they’ve been in before.

The front of the slender, brick building features an elaborate Baroque entrance with carvings of dolphins and a grotesque of Neptune, the Roman god of water. In the center is the city’s seal showing the two maidens and the Detroit motto, “Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus” – “We hope for better things; it will rise from the ashes.” Below that, the word “aquarium” is carved in capitalized, bold letters. The intricate details are sometimes masked by robust ivy that covers the front of the building.

In April 1954, the aquarium closed for more than a year before reopening July 1, 1955, following a $200,000 renovation (about $1.5 million today). The fish moved into new refrigerated, backlit, aluminum-faced tanks that helped keep things cool in the summer months. A giant pool in the center of the building was tiled over and replaced with large tanks. Old floor pools that had long been filled with carp were replaced with enormous tropical fish exhibits. The tanks were outfitted with driftwood and water plants. The aquarium’s latest star would be an 86-pound snapping turtle.

At the time of the renovation, the aquarium had about 3,600 fish of 150 species on display. It was, according to then-curator Keith Kreag, the largest collection of fish ever put on display and perhaps the finest collection of freshwater fish in North America. It boasted everything from piranhas to lampreys to electric eels at the time.

Belle Isle Aquarium--Detroit, Michigan America's oldest Aquarium

Interior entrance to the Belle Isle Aquarium just before closing.

Architect Albert Kahn outfitted the interior with green glass tiles to give visitors the feeling that they were in an underwater cavern. The original tiles - often wrongly believed to be Pewabic tiles - still exist to this day. Tanks still line the walls. Magnificent pillars and other details compliment the soaring arched ceilings, as high as three stories in the center of the building.

Central dome of the Belle Isle Aquarium.

Belle Isle Aquarium--Detroit, Michigan America's oldest Aquarium

Belle Isle Aquarium today

The exterior of the Belle Isle Aquarium in 1910 and on April 2005 when it closed.

The interior of the Belle Isle Aquarium in 1910, and on April 2005 when it closed.

Indian Boundary Park--Chicago, Illinois

This is new's to me. Apparently there was or is a small zoo at the Indian Boundary Park in Chicago, Illinois. Does anyone know more about it? Was it private, or city. How long was it there?

Walt Disney--Getting his!!!!

Many of the "misunderstandings" and "wrong ideas" the public has about animals came from a generation growing up with the "silky/sweet Walt Disney wildlife films, forgetting that it was Hollywood and extensive liberties were taken, so that fact didn't interfere with the story plot.

Crocodile/Alligator hunting before regulation--Popular Mechanix--Aug. 1931

Zoolgical Litographs

I have these two lithographs in my personal collection. The one above was printed in 1810 and the one below was printed in 1814. In studying older zoological lithographs you often have to wonder, or interpret what the artist was depicting. Example the print below by W. Panormo is titled, The White or Silver Lions? Maybe he was a showman instead of a zoologist? Possibly they were Indian or Gir Forest Lions given the lighter, shorter mane. Who knows what he was describing or attempting to depict.

Unknown Presenter

I unfortunately am forgetting the name of this act. It was on Ringling for a short time(a very, very short time). One of the oddest act's I have ever seen.