I need to turn off these "CNN Offbeat" e-mail alerts. My idea of what is "offbeat" probably differs greatly from their usual parade of water-skiing marmots and 3 year-olds who can fly a plane, but I don't imagine Time-Warner is too keen on mass mailing stories about octopus porn just to give me a laugh.
Occasionally, however, one of them piques my interest:
Anchorage zookeepers are installing a 16,000-pound treadmill to keep an isolated elephant from getting fat during the long, cold Alaskan winters.
The 20-foot-long treadmill was designed specifically for Maggie, a 23-year-old female African elephant that has become the subject of a national debate over the proper care for captive pachyderms.
[...]
Zookeepers said Zimbabwe-born Maggie would start using the treadmill in about two months.
As a youngster, I loved the zoo. I still think it's a great place to take kids so they can see exotic animals up close and personal (though not too up close, She Who Shall Not Be Named is particularly fond of cobras, for example). However, even a well-funded zoo is basically an animal jail, and while they're to be commended for helping protect endangered species and educating the public about other forms of wildlife and their ecosystems, I fail to see why an Arctic zoo should have an African elephant.
Maybe they could trade with the Houston Zoo for our snow leopards.
You expressed my opinion as well. While I love the animals, they really are in an animal jail, so it pains me to go visit.
The jail-factor depends on the zoo. The New Orleans Audobon Zoo is like walking through fields of wild animals. The San Antonio Zoo is like a pet store. And it depends on the animal. While I hate seeing large mobile animals cramped up (see San Antonio's large cats), the orangutans always seem fairly chipper. And the hoofed mammals, well, the should just be thankful we're not cutting them into steaks or strapping a yokes to them.
The jail zoo is probably ok as long as you don't get in the way of the Brotherhood, especially Vern Schillinger, that mean bastard of a Rhino, who'll gore you every which way for nosing around his hay. Oh and if you stay clear of the Irish and TOny Masters you'll probably be OK as well. Just watch your back during the hose off.
But who's designing Maggie's athletic footwear?
Can't have ole Maggie without a pair of support sneakers to "jog" in...can we?
*wink*
Maybe they could trade with the Houston Zoo for our snow leopards.
I think you'd get the short end of that deal. Demand they throw in a marmoset and two mammals to be named later.