Painted on the entrance to a Copenhagen bar— this giraffe has taken up drinking upon hearing the news that the Copenhagen Zoo will likely kill another giraffe More giraffe controversy here in Copenhagen It appears that the city's zoo will kill another young, male giraffe in the name of species protection to prevent inbreeding (FYI: it is difficult to castrate a giraffe) HERE is a good summary of the story http://www.newser.com/story/182240/2nd-giraffe-may-be-killed-by-danish-zoo.html INTERVIEW WITH A ZOOKEEPER Earlier this week, after the zoo killed the 1st giraffe, zookeeper Bengt Holst had a rather gripping interview with Channel 4's Matt Frei Watch it HERE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuxgAC0dWK4 It would be too easy to compare the Zookeeper's tone to a Hannibal Lecter or a Nazi. However, he's more stoic than Anthony Hopkin's brilliant psychopath, and the Nazi's weren't trying to save the race of those they were exterminating Instead, the Zookeeper reminds me more of the character Christof from the movie The Truman Show. Christof —played by Ed Harris— is the creator of the Truman show. Ed Harris kind of looks like the Zookeeper, but the comparison goes deeper IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN The Truman Show Feel free to skip the next bit And read again after the picture of the Duplo giraffe ALSO do yourself a favor and watch it Christof's character is much like a zookeeper. He creates and maintains an artificial environment where he can look over Truman. Christof justifies his actions and full-heartedly believes in his efforts. Still, like the Copenhagen zookeeper, his bizarre mix of earnest love and calculated rationality creates major blind spots in his perception of reality Case in point, during the interview, the Copenhagen zookeeper said: "You control your environment just as we control the environment in the zoo" Despite his Spock-like level of rationalization, the Zookeeper has a few quotes that I rather agree with "Why protect [children] from real life? I mean, school children can actually learn a lot from seeing this" "We don't say [the zoo is] nature, we say we are as close to nature as we can get" Unfortunately, Channel 4's Matt Frei is not a world-class interviewer and the conversation devolves into a near farce by the end as Mr. Frei rudely asks the zookeeper, "Do you actually like animals?" Quickly, the Zookeeper responds, "Yes I do. That's why I want to save them" Although, killing a healthy two-year-old giraffe seems an odd way to "save" the animals, I do understand the Zookeeper's point. I don't think the controversy at the Copenhagen Zoo will be over until they stop making an unnecessary spectacle out of their unconventional conservation tactics Also, since the giraffe was fed to the lions .... it's only fair that I post a picture of a lion outside a Copenhagen bar as well CORRECTION (Posted Feb. 24, 2014) On Feb. 13, I wrote that the 2nd Marius was also at the Copenhagen Zoo. That is incorrect. The 2nd Marius is a young giraffe at a different zoo in Denmark. That zoo is called Danish Jyllands Park Zoo
Here’s a brief excerpt from that opinion: “And so our hearts were broken when we saw the keepers at the Copenhagen Zoo break their trust with Marius. He should never have died so young and at the hands of his caretakers, the very ones who should have done all they could to protect him “Zoos may feel that it is necessary to bill themselves as big players on the conservation stage. But what most of us want to see from zoos and their keepers is compassion for their charges, all of whom live such narrow, corralled lives “If zoos cannot offer this to the Mariuses in their care, they will lose the public's goodwill, and will deservedly find themselves heading toward extinction” by Virginia Morell National Geographic Published Feb. 12, 2014 This is my first correction for this blog. Does publishing a correction make me a blogger or a journalist? ... That's a question I won't answer now, but I still feel it is my duty to stand behind all that I share on this blog. In addition to posting this correction here, this FULL correction will be part of an entry on Feb. 24
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
About meI’m a producer, writer and storyteller with expertise in digital, print, film, TV & stage productions Archives
March 2018
|