Captive-bred animals don't do well in the wild, even with millions of years of animal instinct.
I learned that with my pet snakes and lizards, all captive-born. They outlasted and were happier with me and in the cage with regular feeding, heat lights, and heat pads, than the ones I caught in the wild.
Babe the Ball Python would climb up my arm, wrap himself around my eyeglasses, and just sit there for half an hour.
At the Bronx Zoo Giraffe House, I asked the guy if the giraffes recognized him. He put up his hand in a v-shape, thumb down, fingers up, and a Giraffe strolled over, and nuzzled his hand. I thought it was wonderful.
The Bronx Zoo also saved Pere David's Deer, taking in the whole endangered species and giving them a nice pastureland and forest in the zoo to run around and do deer stuff in. They eventually widened the species so much, they could share them with other zoos -- they hope to be able to return some to the wild.
I was amused at how zoos swap animals, I must admit. "I'll trade you two Meerkats and a Painted Turtle for a Snow Leopard, a minor league pitcher to be named later, and cash considerations."
Accredited zoos are the (somewhat) unsung heroes of wildlife conservation. Work at the San Diego Zoo brought the California Condor back from the brink of extinction. Zoos do a lot of swapping with other zoos to keep genetic lines diverse. I like your version better. :-)
Out of curiosity, I looked up life spans of various birds. Parrots can live till 50 or more. Eagles can live till about 15 in the wild, and owls usually live only 5-7 years in the wild. Flaco was more than 13 and lived most of his life at the zoo. That he not only survived but thrived ("Who knew rats were so tasty?!?!?!") was kind of amazing. He might have survived another year or even two had he not collided with a building, but it seems like he was getting toward the end of his life.
These days, animals in captivity live in much better conditions, are better fed, have full time veterinary service and are conservation miracles. They can out live their wild cousins by many years. A wild panda is elderly at 15. A panda at the panda ranches can live well into their 30s.
The relationship between animals and their nannies is a wonderful thing to behold.
Also, it takes at least FOUR meerkats, the painted turtle and a red panda to get a snow leopard.
I know zoos obviously do trades to enhance diversity as well as exhibits, but I do like the idea of trades being like those in baseball.
Our pal Tania in New Zealand has a 25-year-old parrot named Jimmy who has yet to say any words in that time. He just makes noise. our seven-year-old Conure (another parrot) says her name, "KIMMY!" when she's in the cage.
We let her out in the morning, and she hangs out with us all day until she we put her back in the cage around 10:30 in the evening. We would never clip her wings, so she zooms around the house.
She doesn't yell her name when she's out of the cage. She yells "WATCHEE!" and "BAD BIRD!" which is hilarious.
Flaco had no business living outside of his cage...he was a fairly domestic Owl. He should have been sitting in a sofa, watching "The View" on TV, and drinking tea.
The Bronx Zoo has a great Reptile House, which is so old, it has a great many cracks. So each large snake shares his or her space with a large toad. I asked the staff why the snake has a toad for a pal.
They told me the toad's job is to zap insects that sneak into the display. Interestingly, the snakes show no interest in eating their toad buddy. Talk about the "Odd Couple!"
Four Meerkats, et. al.? I'll take your word for it. I'm more familiar with baseball trades.
I vividly remember the "Hair Bear Bunch" cartoon of the early 1970s, with three hippie bears in a zoo that was run as sort of a prison, with Paul Lynde as the chief zookeeper.
Lynde logged hundreds of hours on TV and stand-up comedy, because he could whip out one-liners at the drop of a coin.
Help! ... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! is an American animated television series, created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on CBS from September 11, 1971, to January 8, 1972. Daws Butler, Paul Winchell and William Callaway voice the three bears that comprise the Hair Bear Bunch, while John Stephenson and Joe E. Ross voice Mr. Peevly and Botch, respectively, the two individuals who patrol the zoo in which the bears live. The series' producer was Charles A. Nichols, with William Hanna and Joseph Barbera directing, and Hoyt Curtin serving as the composer.
A 13-issue comic book series was created by Gold Key Comics and began distribution in November 1971. Many television critics compared the premise of the show to other Hanna-Barbera productions, such as Top Cat and Yogi Bear. While in syndication, the series aired on multiple television networks in the United States, including Boomerang, Cartoon Network, and the USA Network. In total, Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! contained sixteen 30 minute-long episodes. It has also been released digitally to the Google Play Store and iTunes Store and physically on DVD as part of Warner Bros.' Archive Collection on a four-disc set.
The series follows the Hair Bear Bunch, a group of three bear cousins who live at the Wonderland Zoo run by zoo director Mr. Peevly and zookeeper Lionel Botch.[1][2] They also serve as the "wacky heroes" of the show.[1] The three bears would occasionally escape their luxurious cage to ride on their "invisible motorcycle[s]"; however, they would always return to the cage before Mr. Peevly or Lionel Botch were able to catch them. Even Peevly and Botch are visited by their boss the Zoo Superintendent.[3] The bears had several motives for pranking and fooling Mr. Peevly and Mr. Botch, including trying to "improve their living conditions" and wanting to "embark on get-rich-quick schemes".[4][3] The bears also wore clothes; according to author Christopher P. Lehman, Hanna-Barbera "dress[ed] the bears in counterculture apparel" in order to stay on track with the "mainstream" fashion in the United States.[5] Sometimes, the bears (usually Hair) would activate a hidden switch to reveal a cave with more luxurious surroundings (complete with modern furniture) instead of the more meager accommodations they were normally seen living in.
I was wrong....it wasn't Paul Lynde. It was John Stephenson. He just sounded like Paul Lynde.
Paul Lynde and Mel Blanc were in "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop."
It broke my heart…again! First my panda family leaves and I found the magnificent Flaco only to find that this wonderfully independent resilient owl has died. I cheered him on through all of his hair raising escapades and now he’s gone on to a better place, but I’ll miss him. 🦉❣️
If it makes you feel any better, I looked up the average lifespan of owls, and Flaco was way older than the average. His story was inspiring to all of us who love animals.
Hopefully we will soon have more pandas to love here.
I will go see pandas any chance I get. I am lucky to have seen in person more pandas than I can even count, many of them in China. Pandas make me very happy.
Enjoyed your story. I was amazed to see a character in your comic strip named Mehitabel. My maternal grandmother, who I loved very much, was named Mehitable, after her grandmother. She was born in 1894 and told me it was was a common name back in the 1800’s. We called her Grandma Hittie. She lived to be 92 and was married to my Grandpa Reed for 66 years.
Someone else once told me they had a grandmother or great grandmother who was named Mehitabel. My Mehitabel came from the book "The Lives and Times of Archie and Mehitabel" written by Don Marquis in the early 20th century. (Maybe around 1916-1920)
Archie was a cockroach who said he was a reincarnated free verse poet, and Mehitabel the cat was his best friend. If he was writing during the early 1900s, it's possible the name was still commonly in use. The books were collections of short stories that had been published serially in the newspapers. (remember those?) and very much focused on the social issues of the day. They are a fascinating look at society just over 100 years ago. I think I need a new copy, since I've lost track of the one I had.
I discovered the book as a kid in the 1960s but really didn't understand all the social issues. To my child self, they were just funny stories about a cockroach and a cat.
Thanks for sharing your grandmother's story. There's a dance in the old dame yet. (One of Mehitabel the cat's favorite sayings)
I was devastated by the death of Flaco.
Captive-bred animals don't do well in the wild, even with millions of years of animal instinct.
I learned that with my pet snakes and lizards, all captive-born. They outlasted and were happier with me and in the cage with regular feeding, heat lights, and heat pads, than the ones I caught in the wild.
Babe the Ball Python would climb up my arm, wrap himself around my eyeglasses, and just sit there for half an hour.
At the Bronx Zoo Giraffe House, I asked the guy if the giraffes recognized him. He put up his hand in a v-shape, thumb down, fingers up, and a Giraffe strolled over, and nuzzled his hand. I thought it was wonderful.
The Bronx Zoo also saved Pere David's Deer, taking in the whole endangered species and giving them a nice pastureland and forest in the zoo to run around and do deer stuff in. They eventually widened the species so much, they could share them with other zoos -- they hope to be able to return some to the wild.
I was amused at how zoos swap animals, I must admit. "I'll trade you two Meerkats and a Painted Turtle for a Snow Leopard, a minor league pitcher to be named later, and cash considerations."
Accredited zoos are the (somewhat) unsung heroes of wildlife conservation. Work at the San Diego Zoo brought the California Condor back from the brink of extinction. Zoos do a lot of swapping with other zoos to keep genetic lines diverse. I like your version better. :-)
Out of curiosity, I looked up life spans of various birds. Parrots can live till 50 or more. Eagles can live till about 15 in the wild, and owls usually live only 5-7 years in the wild. Flaco was more than 13 and lived most of his life at the zoo. That he not only survived but thrived ("Who knew rats were so tasty?!?!?!") was kind of amazing. He might have survived another year or even two had he not collided with a building, but it seems like he was getting toward the end of his life.
These days, animals in captivity live in much better conditions, are better fed, have full time veterinary service and are conservation miracles. They can out live their wild cousins by many years. A wild panda is elderly at 15. A panda at the panda ranches can live well into their 30s.
The relationship between animals and their nannies is a wonderful thing to behold.
Also, it takes at least FOUR meerkats, the painted turtle and a red panda to get a snow leopard.
Thanks, Anne.
I know zoos obviously do trades to enhance diversity as well as exhibits, but I do like the idea of trades being like those in baseball.
Our pal Tania in New Zealand has a 25-year-old parrot named Jimmy who has yet to say any words in that time. He just makes noise. our seven-year-old Conure (another parrot) says her name, "KIMMY!" when she's in the cage.
We let her out in the morning, and she hangs out with us all day until she we put her back in the cage around 10:30 in the evening. We would never clip her wings, so she zooms around the house.
She doesn't yell her name when she's out of the cage. She yells "WATCHEE!" and "BAD BIRD!" which is hilarious.
Flaco had no business living outside of his cage...he was a fairly domestic Owl. He should have been sitting in a sofa, watching "The View" on TV, and drinking tea.
The Bronx Zoo has a great Reptile House, which is so old, it has a great many cracks. So each large snake shares his or her space with a large toad. I asked the staff why the snake has a toad for a pal.
They told me the toad's job is to zap insects that sneak into the display. Interestingly, the snakes show no interest in eating their toad buddy. Talk about the "Odd Couple!"
Four Meerkats, et. al.? I'll take your word for it. I'm more familiar with baseball trades.
I like the baseball trade analogy too. I feel like there is an idea for a 'toon here. Hmmmm...
I vividly remember the "Hair Bear Bunch" cartoon of the early 1970s, with three hippie bears in a zoo that was run as sort of a prison, with Paul Lynde as the chief zookeeper.
Lynde logged hundreds of hours on TV and stand-up comedy, because he could whip out one-liners at the drop of a coin.
How did I miss this cartoon? Maybe I wasn't quite so bear centric in those days!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help!..._It%27s_the_Hair_Bear_Bunch!
It was a 1971 Hanna-Barbera cartoon.
Per Wikipedia:
Help! ... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! is an American animated television series, created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on CBS from September 11, 1971, to January 8, 1972. Daws Butler, Paul Winchell and William Callaway voice the three bears that comprise the Hair Bear Bunch, while John Stephenson and Joe E. Ross voice Mr. Peevly and Botch, respectively, the two individuals who patrol the zoo in which the bears live. The series' producer was Charles A. Nichols, with William Hanna and Joseph Barbera directing, and Hoyt Curtin serving as the composer.
A 13-issue comic book series was created by Gold Key Comics and began distribution in November 1971. Many television critics compared the premise of the show to other Hanna-Barbera productions, such as Top Cat and Yogi Bear. While in syndication, the series aired on multiple television networks in the United States, including Boomerang, Cartoon Network, and the USA Network. In total, Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! contained sixteen 30 minute-long episodes. It has also been released digitally to the Google Play Store and iTunes Store and physically on DVD as part of Warner Bros.' Archive Collection on a four-disc set.
The series follows the Hair Bear Bunch, a group of three bear cousins who live at the Wonderland Zoo run by zoo director Mr. Peevly and zookeeper Lionel Botch.[1][2] They also serve as the "wacky heroes" of the show.[1] The three bears would occasionally escape their luxurious cage to ride on their "invisible motorcycle[s]"; however, they would always return to the cage before Mr. Peevly or Lionel Botch were able to catch them. Even Peevly and Botch are visited by their boss the Zoo Superintendent.[3] The bears had several motives for pranking and fooling Mr. Peevly and Mr. Botch, including trying to "improve their living conditions" and wanting to "embark on get-rich-quick schemes".[4][3] The bears also wore clothes; according to author Christopher P. Lehman, Hanna-Barbera "dress[ed] the bears in counterculture apparel" in order to stay on track with the "mainstream" fashion in the United States.[5] Sometimes, the bears (usually Hair) would activate a hidden switch to reveal a cave with more luxurious surroundings (complete with modern furniture) instead of the more meager accommodations they were normally seen living in.
I was wrong....it wasn't Paul Lynde. It was John Stephenson. He just sounded like Paul Lynde.
Paul Lynde and Mel Blanc were in "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Perils_of_Penelope_Pitstop
Huzzah for any animal that brings joy to human being hearts! 🥰
Well said, Anne. Oh, wait a minute, just got a call that the Red Pandas at Woodland Park Zoo would like a word.
ha ha ha ha ha!
"WE ARE TOO REAL PANDAS!"
It broke my heart…again! First my panda family leaves and I found the magnificent Flaco only to find that this wonderfully independent resilient owl has died. I cheered him on through all of his hair raising escapades and now he’s gone on to a better place, but I’ll miss him. 🦉❣️
We are all Flaco.
If it makes you feel any better, I looked up the average lifespan of owls, and Flaco was way older than the average. His story was inspiring to all of us who love animals.
Hopefully we will soon have more pandas to love here.
So cool you got to see pandas!
I will go see pandas any chance I get. I am lucky to have seen in person more pandas than I can even count, many of them in China. Pandas make me very happy.
Enjoyed your story. I was amazed to see a character in your comic strip named Mehitabel. My maternal grandmother, who I loved very much, was named Mehitable, after her grandmother. She was born in 1894 and told me it was was a common name back in the 1800’s. We called her Grandma Hittie. She lived to be 92 and was married to my Grandpa Reed for 66 years.
Reed Merritt
Someone else once told me they had a grandmother or great grandmother who was named Mehitabel. My Mehitabel came from the book "The Lives and Times of Archie and Mehitabel" written by Don Marquis in the early 20th century. (Maybe around 1916-1920)
Archie was a cockroach who said he was a reincarnated free verse poet, and Mehitabel the cat was his best friend. If he was writing during the early 1900s, it's possible the name was still commonly in use. The books were collections of short stories that had been published serially in the newspapers. (remember those?) and very much focused on the social issues of the day. They are a fascinating look at society just over 100 years ago. I think I need a new copy, since I've lost track of the one I had.
I discovered the book as a kid in the 1960s but really didn't understand all the social issues. To my child self, they were just funny stories about a cockroach and a cat.
Thanks for sharing your grandmother's story. There's a dance in the old dame yet. (One of Mehitabel the cat's favorite sayings)