Posted on 06/04/2002 8:49:10 PM PDT by Tawiskaro
Mass misbehavior leaves zoo a mess
Widespread rowdiness and vandalism at the Buffalo Zoo on Memorial Day, after more than 15,000 people came through the turnstiles free of charge, may spell the end of open admission on major holidays, zoo President Donna M. Fernandes said Tuesday.
Though zoo staff members and private security officers were out in force, Fernandes said, they couldn't stop the mischief, most of which was committed by teenagers. It included:
Garbage and other objects - including a baseball hat - hurled over exhibit barriers at bears, lions and tigers.
Partial destruction of the mesh canopy enclosing Lorikeet Landing, a popular tropical bird exhibit. Until they were stopped, some visitors used the downed mesh as a trampoline.
Abuse of lorikeets and lorries in the exhibit. Visitors pulled down branches on which the birds were perched and then let go, catapulting the birds into the air. People also were caught trying to smuggle birds out of the enclosure.
A number of fights, including a mace-spraying incident involving several girls that started outside the giraffe exhibit and spilled into the parking lot.
A grass fire set in front of the outdoor lion and tiger exhibit.
Parents dangling small children over the railings outside the bear and lion and tiger exhibits, despite clearly posted danger warnings.
The outrages didn't stop there, Fernandes noted, citing people pounding on glass exhibits in the reptile building (the window on the emerald boa constrictor enclosure was hit so hard, a heat lamp used to warm the creature was broken); the deliberate plugging of restroom toilets; unsupervised young children urinating in shrubbery; damage to flower beds and bushes; extensive littering of the grounds with beer and malt liquor containers sneaked through the gate in violation of the zoo's ban on alcoholic beverages; and repeated attempts to feed animals despite many signs saying feeding is prohibited.
While a large majority of the 17,000 people in attendance - including 1,700 who paid their way in - behaved normally, and teens appeared to be the principal culprits, many adults defied requests from staffers or security officers to follow the rules, she added.
Fernandes told the zoo board during its annual meeting that Monday's mass misbehavior, following similar incidents July 4, may doom the tradition of sponsor-subsidized free admission on the big holidays.
Most of the troublemakers apparently used free-admission coupons distributed by a pharmacy chain, which co-sponsored Memorial Day at the zoo with an area health plan.
The zoo will charge $1 a head this July 4. After Labor Day, which is scheduled to be a free day for people holding sponsor coupons, all major holidays are likely to be dollar days, Fernandes said.
"Free days in general bring people who don't always appreciate what they're given. Maybe if they had to pay a small charge, they'd be more thankful for the chance to see the zoo," she said.
There are no plans to eliminate 10 other free days the zoo offers annually, she said. Those dates are not major holidays and are not underwritten by sponsors.
e-mail: tbuckham@buffnews.com
Zoo rowdies give humans a bad name
The visit to the Buffalo Zoo started for Judy Derenda and her 2-year-old at the petting zoo. The question in the toddler's mind: "Mommy, why are that man and his kids chasing the calves and trying to ride them?"
I don't know, honey. Because they're ignorant?
Monday was a tough day for impressionable young minds, who could've asked a lot of such questions. It was a tough day for anyone who believes humans are a superior species.
In case you missed it, admission to the Buffalo Zoo was free on Memorial Day, part of a tradition of sponsor-donated free holidays. There were wild animals running about, all of them on two legs.
The featured attractions were fights, pot-smoking, beer-drinking, cussing, crushed pop cans hurled into bear and lion dens, the assault of a pop machine and unsuspecting lorikeets - multicolored Australian birds who feed from your hand - catapulted from branches.
But enough about how the adults acted.
Going to the zoo is an educational experience. The lesson Monday, for the sheltered or naive, is there are people who behave like animals. Then again, we don't want to give animals a bad name. Animals care for their young better than these creatures did, and show more respect for others of their species.
Kids ran wild. Their parents either weren't watching, didn't care or joined in the "fun."
Sadly, it should mark the end of free holidays. It's a nice idea society is no longer ready for. Zoos in other cities have had the same problems. Offer it, and the place gets trashed. Even charging a buck (it usually costs $7 for an adult) makes a difference.
Zookeeper Larry Radford told one boy to stop jumping on the mesh that covers the duck pond. The kid's mother was standing 10 feet away, screaming obscenities into a cell phone.
"The adults acted worse than the children," said Radford.
A couple of apparently inebriated men kicked and punched an uncooperative pop machine.
"It was all f-this, f-that," said Derenda. "Then there was a big commotion by the polar bear, people laughing and heckling. Somebody had thrown in a baseball cap, and the bear was eating it."
It's not about race, age, ethnicity or political persuasion. It's behavior. The rules are the same for everybody. To most people, they matter. Then there was some of the 17,000 who showed up Monday at the zoo.
It's a reminder of what schools and social agencies sometimes deal with. The animals got an eyeful: The not-so-silent minority of people who give humans a bad name. Countless families had their day ruined. Animals could have been hurt.
Ursie Bankhead came with her 2-year-old daughter. She lasted an hour.
"People were drinking out of paper bags," she said. "Kids 2 and 3 years old were running all over."
At the nearby playground, an adolescent boy jumped on a tube slide, trying to break it. When Bankhead told him to stop, the boy's mother got huffy. "Who do you think you are," she said, "to talk to my son?"
As the husband of a Buffalo teacher, we hear the stories: Kids who beat up classmates, hardly show up for school and treat homework like a communicable disease. The parents come in and say it's the teacher's fault, or the school's fault.
Sometimes the system does fail. And sometimes the problem is in the mirror.
Maybe the zoo should have had more than a handful of security guards and two dozen workers on hand. But, short of calling the National Guard, there was no controlling the throng. Blaming the zoo misses the point. The problem was the people. "They didn't come to see the animals," said Derenda. "They came to have a party, at the zoo's expense."
The fear is that one bad day will keep people away. Regulars know the zoo is peaceful. A $64 million upgrade will drag it out of the dark age of barred cages. Zoo director Donna Fernandes wants a $1 entry fee on holidays. If that's all it takes to keep the weeds out of the garden, it's a small price to pay.
e-mail: desmonde@buffnews.com
By TOM BUCKHAM
News Staff Reporter
5/29/2002
____________________
By DONN ESMONDE
5/31/2002
"It's not about race, age, ethnicity or political persuasion," Mr. Esmonde claims. "It's behavior." If it's not about race, why did this liberal columnist of this leftist "newspaper" feel the need to make such a statement? Because anyone who passed by the Buffalo Zoo on Memorial day could see at a glance that the throng of yahoos trashing the place was of uniform race, ethnicity, and (probably) political persuasion. The throng was, however, quite diverse in the age category--young and old alike were behaving like a bunch of barbarians.
It may prove to be an interesting summer here in Buffalo.
I'm sorry if this was already posted. I searched and found nothing.
--twk
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