Indianapolis Zoo (Knox, Orland: real estate, crime, hotel)

[REM]

Originally Posted by Knox Harrington

So? If they would not survive in the wild, why should we keep them in a tank?

Let nature take its course.

Anyway, that is a rare case. Most dolphins in captivity have been captured in the wild, transported to captivity, and bred.

Zoos are stupid. When I want to see dolphins, I go see them in the ocean, not in a tank in Indiana. What is more natural for the animal, not the human? When I want to see elephants, I will go see them in the plains of Africa, not in a cage in Indiana. What is more natural for the animal, not the human? My child will do the same. We have not yet been to Antarctica so he will only learn about penguins and will one day see them in their NATURAL habitat, not in a zoo in in Indiana in AUGUST, when it is 97 degrees.

Give me a f***ing break. Giraffes in a cage in Indiana? Yeah, that makes complete sense.

Zoos are great learning places for scientist and the public alike in learning how to interact with animals and exploring ways to protect their habitats. Not to mention zoos and reservations help combat the risk of extinction of many animals, which is anything but natural. There are estimates out there that predict as many as 1/2 of all known species could become extinct by the end of the 21st century due to direct human interaction, Your grandchildren might only be able to see elephants in a zoo.

[IndieIndy]

I love our zoo and I'm excited about the addition!

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by IndieIndy

I love our zoo and I'm excited about the addition!

same too
the 100+ foot tower looks nice also.

[Knox Harrington]

Originally Posted by REM

Zoos are great learning places for scientist and the public alike in learning how to interact with animals and exploring ways to protect their habitats. Not to mention zoos and reservations help combat the risk of extinction of many animals, which is anything but natural. There are estimates out there that predict as many as 1/2 of all known species could become extinct by the end of the 21st century due to direct human interaction, Your grandchildren might only be able to see elephants in a zoo.

And that is why I donate to groups trying to protect those animals in their NATURAL habitats.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by Knox Harrington

And that is why I donate to groups trying to protect those animals in their NATURAL habitats.

The two are not mutually exclusive. There's a place for both groups in the world.

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by Knox Harrington

When I want to see elephants, I will go see them in the plains of Africa, not in a cage in Indiana.

You are living in just as much of a cage as these animals. Do you cook every meal with a wood fire? Do you hunt and farm all the food you eat? Do you solely use wood that you harvested to heat your shelter in the winter?

Originally Posted by Knox Harrington

And that is why I donate to groups trying to protect those animals in their NATURAL habitats.

People want electricity and heat with the flick of a switch (be it on the wall, oven, or stove top). If animals are in the way of a fuel source (coal, nuclear, wind, hydro, solar, wood, natural gas, oil, or another other source), are you OK with reverting back to primitive standards of living?

I'm not really a big zoo fan. Haven't been to a zoo in years. However, I do believe in conservation, and I think zoos have a place in both trying to preserve a species and helping educate people about conservation and other environmental topics/ideas.

[msamhunter]

Also, remember the Indianapolis Zoo is a huge contributor to animal conservation worldwide. The Indianapolis Prize is the largest monetary award given for conservation on the planet so odds are the zoo does move for animal conservation than any of us.

[IndieIndy]

Originally Posted by Knox Harrington

And that is why I donate to groups trying to protect those animals in their NATURAL habitats.

Sure you do.

[PixiStix]

Well, I will say I'm speaking on an individual basis here but mentioning my previous post- just the fact that Mote Marine felt the Indy Zoo was worthy of this baby dolphin speaks volumes. If you knew this organization, they are totally committed to conservation & rehabilitation of marine life. They drive the beaches every day during sea turtle season checking every nest & rescuing hatchlings in distress. We had a shark that was beached near our house & Mote came out, nursed it & towed it back out to sea.

This baby dolphin named Taz was found stranded & dying on Sanibel Island & they called Mote to rescue him. While some posters feel it would be fine to let him just lay there & die or throw him to the sharks, the experts felt otherwise. You release a 9 month old dolphin back into the gulf without a mother & it would last only days before starving or being eaten by sharks OR you give it to an organization committed to giving it medical treatment, shelter & food so it can grow & thrive.

You tell me which is better for that baby dolphin...

[A2DAC1985]

Originally Posted by Knox Harrington

...Zoos are stupid. When I want to see dolphins, I go see them in the ocean, not in a tank in Indiana. What is more natural for the animal, not the human? When I want to see elephants, I will go see them in the plains of Africa, not in a cage in Indiana. What is more natural for the animal, not the human? My child will do the same. We have not yet been to Antarctica so he will only learn about penguins and will one day see them in their NATURAL habitat, not in a zoo in in Indiana in AUGUST, when it is 97 degrees.

Give me a f***ing break. Giraffes in a cage in Indiana? Yeah, that makes complete sense.

Here are a couple thoughts for this post:

I get it! Only the rich should be allowed to see the wonderful creatures in person on this planet. Gotcha. Because, no matter how you slice it, only the people with significant amounts of money to spend SOLELY on making a trip to one of the oceans to see dolphins are going to be able to do so.

If the kids (8 & 10 years old) want to see elephants, well, the parents better save for the next 2-3 years to take the trip to Africa to see them. But by then, who knows? Maybe the kids (now 11 & 13) will find elephants boring and they would rather see Toucans and Anacondas. Well, cancel the African safari; It's off to the Rain Forest we go!

And is this the "preferred" way to see animals? In their natural habitat? How "Natural" will their habitat be when people adopt your philosophy on viewing wild animals? How natural will the African Plains be with droves of people coming in to see the elephants and lions in their "natural" habitat? Multi-car trams running on paved roads sounds like authentic Africa to me...

And of course the penguins. All dressed up and nowhere to go . Don't worry little buddies! We'll bring the party to you in Antartica! And of course with all the tourists there hoping to be lucky enough to hear Morgan Freeman narrate their little tuxedoed lives, there are going to have to be hotels, restaurants, bars, shopping to keep people (read: small children and their corresponding adults) entertained on a piece of ice in the middle of nowhere.

Also consider what people do when they take animals out of their habitat: They try to make the animals feel at home.

What happens when humans go somewhere? They try to make the new place fit HUMANS.

A zoo brings in a rattle snake from Nevada and the zoo makes a habitat for the snake that mimics their natural environment as closely as possible.

People want to see a Nevada rattle snake in Nevada and we end up with Las Vegas.

Finally, if it makes you feel better, you can just pretend animals in the zoos were given a fair trial by their species and sentenced to 10-15 in the Indianapolis Zoo Correctional Facility.

That monkey over there? Sold meth to Whooping Cranes. That beaver? Embezzler. The lion in the super secure cage? Ate a whole FAMILY OF ZEBRAS.



For the OP, those plans look really cool, and I will have to visit it once it is completed.