This is the entrance- looks quite colorful yeah?
Don't let the cheery facade fool you. Look closer at the animals inside and imagine yourself being kept in an inexcusable living condition.
They give you the illusion that everything is all right, you can see trees everywhere. WELL THIS IS NOT TRUE.
They renovated so that it looks less icky-but kept the animals' enclosures in their sad sorry state.
Look at this reptile- it's mouth is clearly infected and gnawed away. He kept pushing his snout against the glass maybe because it was the only cool thing in their glass cage. I know it's icky to look at, but you have to expose yourself to these types of issues so that you can begin caring.
We saw this crocodile being poked by his handler to move a certain way. His leg was being sprayed with this purple gunk-its a disinfectant used for scratches, not bloody gashes like these. These types of injuries have to be sutured.
What kind of person puts a sign that says "wishing crocs" on them?? Animals are not meant to have coins thrown at them!! This is the reason why people throw stuff in!!
This is the only place we passed by that resembled anything that animals are supposed to live in- but this is for growing plants ONLY.
See the zebras? They are filthy! And the one in front, it's most likely been crossed with a horse. Bastards.
The monkeys are kept in one of the sorriest states. Where they should have trees and be with others like them, they are confined to steel cages with no shelter from the rain- this is why these monkeys are huddling against the cage (to escape the rain and filth from the bottom of their cages)
Looks so much like a person huh?
Imagine if this were YOU.
We spent quite a bit of time around Mali (the elephant)'s enclosure. Wasn't really expecting it to be all concrete and no trees. Imagine yourself standing in a bedroom, and you only have space for one single bed, a study table and minimal place to walk around or pace in. Of course you know that you won;t always be staying in your room! But Mali has been living like this for the past 30 years. In the wild elephants can grow as old as 70 years, but Mali is only expected to live up to 35 only--only because she is kept in this state.
See the incline there? When Mali poops they just push it over there (the smell is so bad and the sewage sucks). What if Mali fell down?
As we were watching her we noticed that she kept her weight off one foot (might be a result of a toenail infection), and she looked so lonely!
She doesn't even have any trees- her food is just scattered grass all around her pen.
See her tail? Poor thing. It's supposed to be bushier.
She was rooting around the tree trying to get some more variety I guess- but the tree was all barren.
See her favoring her sore leg again? Poor Mali :(
Did you every watch Eliza Thornberry when you were younger? Well I did, and I loved it! You remember how elephants like to swim around in deep pools and soak around all in a group?
WELL LOOK AT MALI's "POOL".
It's all mossy and gross, and it's no excuse for keeping an elephant in. If you can't accommodate her in the first place, why bother?
This was the only comforting thing we saw there. This was IT.
Me and Charm (she's from Australia)!
Esmee (she's from Malaysia) and Charm!
Esmee and me! (This kuya thought I was Korean, even greeted me "Aneyo Haseyo")
After this depressing experience we taxied it back to Greenbelt 3 where we had lunch at Chimera. It's this really nice place! They label their menu with Vegan, Lacto (vegans who drink milk), and Pesko (who eat fish) and they have all these Tofu chips and healthy snacks!!
Here's what I had for lunch! It's the sweet chili beef (mock meat!!) And you wouldn't taste the difference! Really yummy!
At the end of the day, I can tell you guys to not support zoos, but it's not going to change your mindset. But after everything you've seen, now it's up to you to decide. Act on your decision: write a letter, boycott zoos, spread the word to raise awareness, read up on current events. The little you can do can make a big difference.
Never let life get you down,
irene :)
Yes, risk taking is inherently failure-prone.
Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking.
-Tim McMahon
