Zoo Stories
Thank you very much for this article (Cover Story, "Endangered Species," by Alex Pickett, Oct. 25-31). This should not be a news story that simply fades away. Having visited Lowry Zoo in the old days of caged animals and then recently, I was still upset with the conditions I saw as a patron. I felt the habitats were not ample enough. The animals have hardly any room to roam. … I do feel the zoo cannot possibly pay for the care of the animals appropriately based on current admission prices, and I do not believe they have large enough bequests to provide adequate food, shelter and care… The animals deserve better.
Michelle, excerpted from website comments
I don't see how "peeling paint" in a night house or "damaged doors" can be attributed to a new keeper leaving the cage unlocked followed by the tiger escape. Do you really believe that more keeper training is needed for clasping a lock? I don't see why anyone should deny the zoo's claim that the tiger escape was indeed a human error. The case against the zoo that these disgruntled people demonstrate, in my eyes, is not very strong. Their arguments are at best, speculative. I can't see any reason why these ex-zoo employees are given the credibility that this article assumes. I would also like to know, if these ex-zoo employees really care that much about the zoo, why did they "quit"?
Fuji Watanabe, via website
As founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue I can attest to the fact that working with people who love animals can be challenging, because they are constantly looking for ways to make the animals' lives better, and that is what I love about our staff and volunteers. They are always asking for bigger, better, more enriching, safer, and it is because we have 107 people doing that at Big Cat Rescue, who know they will be heard and accommodated, that we haven't had the sort of problems that face most zoos. A sanctuary is about the animals first and for any place that keeps animals, that is the way it should be. Brian Czarnik and Coleen Kremer both are valued staff at Big Cat Rescue because they are doing the right thing for the animals.
Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue, via website
Hallelujah Hollis
Great writer!! (Moodswing, "Control the Hole," by Hollis Gillespie, Oct. 4-10). Where did you find this girl?!?!?! No matter! Just glad you did. I am already addicted and can't wait to read the next installment.
Beth Tarson, via website
Great article, Hollis! (Moodswing, "My 75-Year-Old Self," Oct. 18-25). I've been reflecting on my own situations in life of late — this helped bring things that we look back on into perspective. Your mother had it right all along.
Dave, via website
Planet, I Miss You
The name change was wrongheaded. Weekly Planet was a much more effective name. As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Stop thinking corporately and remember the historical legacy that the name Weekly Planet means for the Tampa Bay region.
Gary DeJean, via email
Editor David Warner replies: I appreciate that there are readers who feel a sense of loss with the change in name. But I've also met many others who feel just as strong a sense of identification with the name Creative Loafing, because that's how they first got to know the paper — that name, for them, has more of a "historical legacy" than the Planet, a name they never quite got used to. In any case, under any name, we're still going to do what the paper has always done — offer an independent voice on Tampa Bay and the Suncoast, with the best writing, reporting and criticism we can muster.
This article appears in Nov 1-7, 2006.