Maryland Zoo in Baltimore

On my last day of Spring Break I drove up to Baltimore and spent a couple of hours at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.

I am clearly fascinated by the idea of zoos. The reality of zoos mostly depress the hell out of me. The lives of these animals in captivity is so sterile and bland. The lethargy in most of the animals borders on ennui. If I had all the money in the world I'd set about creating a better world for all of them...but then, that's obvious. Here's hoping the $14.00 I paid for admission helps somehow.

Some of the inmates:

POLAR BEAR, Ursus maritimus
There were two in separate enclosures visible through blue tinted Plexiglas and both baking in the hot sun 85˚ @ noon, with no option for shade. The exhibit was messy, the available water putrid. The website claims the zoo is home to three, one must have been staying cool out of sight.

SPUR-THIGH TORTOISE, Geochelene sulcata
A pair of these animals shared a grassy knoll and this one was happily munching away on the grass.

SOUTHERN WHITE RHINOCEROS, Ceratotherium simum simum
Neither animal moved the entire time I watched them. The enclosure claimed to house both Ostriches and Zebra, too. But no sign of either species was present.

ADDRA GAZELLE, Gazella ruficollis
The signage described these animals as "Critically Endangered." The zoo has three in its collection.

RETICULATED GIRAFFE, Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata
This is Angel. She was born at the zoo 14 years ago and known no other home. Her sister, Zoe, died at the age of 16 this past April 14th during a routine medical procedure. Angel still has a companion, Caesar, age 4. I was there during their morning feeding when you can pay $2.00 to hand feed Angel or Caesar a couple of frond of bamboo foliage. This was a delightful moment. Watching children tentatively approach the gigantic animals and they in turn gingerly extend their amazingly dexterous black tongues to receive the gift.

CHEETAH, Acinonyx jubatus
There were two in separate caged in areas of a larger embankment. Both were lounging, I doubt the either has ever run in their entire lives... At least those distant cousins domesticated over the millennia by Hausa Kings, Egyptian Pharaohs, and Indian Rajahs were taken out to hunt deer and other game. Penning this creatures up in such small enclosures seems so cruel.

Nearby an AFRICAN LEOPARD, Panthera pardus lie on its side housed in a cage that reminded me of one of those places where you go to bat at balls and the netting catches the ball a safe distance from where you hit it. The poor thing was the epitome of ennui.

AFRICAN PENGUIN, spheniscus demersus
The penguin live on a faux island of generous proportions and aside from the occasional Robin or House Sparrow only have to share their space with a set of five WHITE BREASTED CORMORANTS, Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus. There were at least a dozen of them and they seemed, unlike so many of the neighbors, quite content with their digs and one another. The cormorants were huddled on a screen topped table-like frame that extended like a pier just above the water and spent their time pretending to be statues or pecking at one another.

AFRICAN ELEPHANT, Loxodonta africana
There were three of these animals and none were near to the public. Zookeepers were present and interacting with them when I arrived at their enclosure. To the zoo's credit, it is one of the most generous in the park.

OKAPI, Okapia johnstoni
Okapi are an endangered species. The zoo claims to have a pair. I only saw the one. They are truly one of nature's most beautiful animals.

AFRICAN LION, Panthera leo
The lion was lounging under a stand of bamboo and was only visible through a tinted green Plexiglas window. Only the male, Tsavo, was visible. The zoo claims to have a female, as well, Cuma. I did not see any sign of her.

PANAMANIAN GOLDEN FROG, atelopus zeteki
Held in a relatively small Terrarium-like glass enclosure, a little heard of these members of the poison dart group of amphibians was absolutely my favorite find. They were content, active and clearly well cared for. And absolutely fun to experience.

COQUEREL's SIFAKA, Propithecus verreauxi coquereli
Sifaka are absolutely one of the most beautiful and amazing creatures on this planet--if one can so arrogantly rank such things. The zoo owns a pair, and just recently introduced to the public their little off-spring (my pics of mom and baby didn't prove very good....) And they live in a dark and isolated prison, full of concrete "trees," rubber "vines," and ropes meant to offer stimulation. There was no living thing in their enclosure besides themselves. The only natural light was from small skylights in the roof of the their pen. The clutter of unnatural constructs made it difficult to see them. The entire facility felt like some science fiction prison run by Cardassians on Golgotha Prime. Other primates were imprisoned in adjoining cells. The largest housed a colony of Chimpanzees which are the only inmates allowed to roam outside when the weather permits and even there they are kept in a large cage with concrete representations of trees.

The little baby Sifaka was so beautiful, and it was all I could do to keep from crying...

Humans should not presume to keep other primates in captivity lightly. I understand that there are great reasons for doing so. But the conditions and resources available to the Maryland Zoo in this capacity are not even close to meeting a reasonable standard of acceptability. The treatment of these animals in particular is simple criminal.