Pretoria Zoo claims investigated

Rekord made an unannounced visit to the Pretoria Zoological Garden on Monday, to investigate claims on social media of animal negligence, empty enclosures and green water ponds.

This comes after a Facebook post went viral at the weekend, claiming that many of the zoo’s enclosures were empty and that some of the animals seemed to have been left without water.

At the time of our visit on Monday, most of the enclosures had water for the animals while other enclosures where water was not visible, were partially closed off and the public unable to see the entire enclosure.

Some of the water ponds appeared green and muddy but pathways and walking routes looked neat and bathroom facilities mostly clean. Many of the enclosures were empty.

The hedgehogs, mentioned on the Facebook post, were not in their enclosure. Most of the domesticated animals/petting zoo enclosures were all empty on Monday.

Other enclosures had outside water sources visible, though some did seem green and others muddy.

Facebook user Therese de Lange said she visited the zoo with her children on Saturday and was disappointed in what she saw.

“I don’t like being negative, but I am a great animal lover and can’t stand to see animals being neglected or not taken care of.”

De Lange said apart from that many of the zoo’s enclosures were empty, some of the animals seemed to have been left without water.

“At the hedgehog enclosure we saw that there was no water,” said De Lange.

“When I gave them (hedgehogs) water from my water bottle they almost went ballistic as though they hadn’t had water for a while.”

See post:

https://www.facebook.com/therese.delange.1/posts/10219995227091099

Director of the national zoological gardens Craig Allenby denied these claims and said that all the animals had access to fresh drinking water.

“There are drinking areas inside the animals’ night rooms,” Allenby said.

“We have no problem with providing enough water, thanks to the recent rains which have also filled many of the outside ponds.”

Allenby also refuted claims made by other social media users saying the zoo had problems with sewage leaks.

READ MORE: Fun facts about zoos as today is national zoo lovers’ day

“This simply isn’t true. People should really get their facts straight before making allegations.”

De Lange said the atmosphere at the zoo felt “dead”.

“It is not at all how I remember the zoo being, and not what I wanted to show my children,” she said.

“Some animals, like the warthog, just looked so lifeless.”

De Lange said many of the animals she was most eager to see, were also not in their enclosures.

“It’s sad to see only one baboon alone in its enclosure and even the monkeys, usually in large groups, were only a few.”

Allenby said: “Unfortunately, many of our older animals had died and Covid-regulations and travel restrictions have not allowed for new animals yet.”

The cable cars were also not running and other renovations at the enclosures were still in the pipeline.

Of the 84ha zoological garden grounds, Allenby said around 11 to 15 animal enclosures were empty.

“We still have one of the best zoos in the country and we are definitely on track to get all our enclosures full again.”

The national zoological garden Facebook page posted a statement to address public concerns saying:

“The National Zoological Garden has received negative commentary concerning the state of its infrastructure as well as its animal collection. The Zoo values the opinions of its visitors. We would however like to correct the following:

1. All animals have access to fresh drinking water; some of the drinking areas are inside the animals’ night rooms. It should be noted that the porcupine enclosure in question was once a single enclosure and is now a double enclosure with a water trough in the adjoining enclosure.

2. The walkway through the Heart of Africa has been closed as it needs urgent renovations. A company has already been appointed to undertake these renovations.

3. The bear enclosure is currently empty and the water bodies have filled up with rainwater following the recent rains in Pretoria.

4. Regarding the empty seal enclosure – the animals were moved down to Stormy Bay a number of years ago. This enclosure is on the list of enclosures that will be renovated in due course.

5. There is a practice in zoos worldwide to create multi-species habitats indicative of animals found in the same natural areas.

6. The Zoo has received substantial infrastructure funding that will allow it to start upgrading a lot of the habitats and visitor areas in question.

7. The NZG has an animal collection plan that addresses the future expansion needs of the various animals. Many of these animals have been placed on hold until enclosures have been completed.”

WATCH:

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