jmcquown wrote:
> Blinky the Shark wrote:
>> It's all happening.
>>
>> Any zoo lovers in here?
>>
> I love zoos. But I have to say, until oh, the last 15 years, the
> Memphis Zoo put me off. I remember the too sad days of the old "Lion
> House", which was nothing more than a cinder-block and cement enclosure
> with big cats in cages. It made me sad to see them.
>
> After the zoo renovation, however, they've adopted an open concept.
> "Cat Country" is a spacious area lush with greenery, running brooks and
> places for all the cats to run and play, or take naps in the shade or
> the sun, as cats are wont to do. Separated, of course, so they don't
> kill each other LOL
>
> The old "Primate House" was similarly sad. Ugly cement enclosure with
> very thick glass so you could look at some sad primates with a couple of
> fake branches to swing on if they wanted to. They didn't want to. Now,
> they're playing like crazy in a foliated area, ditto the water, lots of
> items of intrigue to amuse them.
>
> They're gradually getting this zoo up to snuff. Since I've seen it
> change over the last 30 years the difference is amazing. I think they
> turned the old Lion House into a cafe LOL
>
> They have some work to do on some of the bird areas. There's one poor
> lonely old bald eagle still in a big enclosure. Okay, the cage is about
> 3 storeys high but he's in there all by himself. If it's even the same
> eagle. He just sits there, all by himself. (sigh)
>
> Overall, it's a really good zoo now. Before, not so much.
>
> I went to the San Diego zoo but that was in 1967. I barely remember it.
> I do remember Sea World and Shamoo the Killer Whale (same time frame;
> how many Shamoo's have their been?!). Went to the zoo in Bangkok on a
> school field
None that I know of. On the other hand, here's the dope on the Shamus.
The original Shamu died about 27 years ago.
<q wiki>
Shamu is the name of the first female orca ever captured, which was
supposed to be a companion for Namu.[1] The name Shamu means "friend of
Namu". Shamu is a Southern Resident orca who was likely born in 1961 and
captured in Puget Sound in 1965.[1] Shamu and Namu resided in the care of
Seattle Marine Aquarium, but both orcas experienced social conflicts.
Shamu was then obtained by SeaWorld San Diego on December 20, 1965. [1]
She performed in several shows and eventually died on August 23, 1971. Her
final year of performing in front of an audience was mired in controversy.
She was retired from performing after an incident caught on tape where she
attacked Annette Eckis, an employee of SeaWorld at the time, who was
supposed to ride her. [2]
Today, "Shamu," "Namu," and "Ramu" are trademarked stage names given to
all of the orcas residing within the SeaWorld parks.[3] The first Baby
Shamu is named Kalina. She is the first surviving orca born in captivity
on September 26, 1985.[3] Notably, ten orca calves had been born in
captivity before 1985, but five were stillborn and the others all died
within two months of their births.[3] Kalina's parents, Katina and
Winston, were bestowed the names Namu (Katina) and Ramu (Winston). The
stage name Grandbaby Shamu was given to Kalina's first calf, which was
born on February 2, 1993 - a male named Keet. The first Great Grandbaby
Shamu was Keet's first calf, born on December 21, 2004 - a female named
Kalia. The first ever calf to be born to captive-bred parents (Kayla and
Keet) is a female named Halyn, who was born on October 9, 2005.
</q>
--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project:
http://improve-usenet.org
NEW --> Now evaluating a GG-free news feed:
http://usenet4all.se