Joburg Zoo responds to complaints

A Facebook post by a Johannesburg Zoo visitor who was disgusted with the facilities has gone viral.

The visitor took the family out for a trip to the zoo in December and was left with a bad taste in her mouth.

The post has garnered over 15 000 shares and over 5 000 comments. The post in question complained about the ageing and dilapidated facilities such as the ablution blocks and the old polar bear enclosure. The poster continued to comment about large piles of the litter as well as a less than pleasing-looking otter pool, filled with green water.

“Half the enclosures didn’t even have occupants and the five tigers were out of their enclosure and cramped up into a 5×5 room with glass wall for visitors to get up close with,” read the post.

Other complaints ranged from a tree that damaged the crocodile enclosure, sullen staff, questions around the safety of a children’s playground and rats inside the baboon enclosure.

Comments on the post ranged from sheer disgust towards the zoo and a call to shut down all zoos with a sprinkle of ‘zoo-defenders’. After a flood of requests for comment, Johannesburg Zoo invited members of the media to inspect their facilities and allay any concerns. The oversight visit was opened by the new Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Community Development Margaret Arnolds and Bryne Maduka, the managing director of Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo.

It has not escaped the Gazette, that a visit of this nature is not impromptu. On arrival, dozens of weed eaters and lawnmowers could be seen cutting the long grass. This was posed as a question to the zoo’s management, asking whether this type of visit is an organic and accurate reflection of the 116-year old facility.

“We are not denying the fact that there are issues in our facility… We do have a plan to modernise,” said Maduka.

He added that at any given point the zoo is being cleaned or maintained and that the grass is cut when needed.

The team claimed that they had tried to contact the complainant with no response. The Gazette has made attempts to contact her, also with no success.

MMC Arnolds opened the meeting by stating that there are people out there determined to damage the image of the zoo, “A lot of us can learn from the zoo… we don’t want to hide anything… We can attribute some of the issues to in-sourced cleaners. We need full-time staff. As a new administration, this is our task. What was good we will keep and what was bad we will throw out.”

Maduka added that they respect the opinions of those against animals in enclosures. Spokesperson for Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo Jenny Moodley agreed with Arnolds, acknowledging that is there a strong anti-zoo sentiment which is often supported internationally. “Many of the comments on posts like these are fake accounts, we know there are payments made to these ‘bots’.”

“There are private sanctuaries that could benefit if zoos closed down,” said Moodley.

It is important to acknowledge that Johannesburg Zoo is not just about the enclosure of animals but that there are strong and ongoing educational, environmental and research-based projects.

The Festival of Lights event was the overriding reason used to defend but not excuse the lacklustre facilities. “The festival is a three- year programme, this was our first year and we will learn. It is no doubt that the massive number of visitors and rain had an impact,” explained Maduka.

The management team explained that the big storms had caused multiple trees to fall over, one falling into the crocodile enclosure. The team insisted that no crocs were injured and, in fact, the fallen tree acts as extra enrichment, allowing the crocs to hide when they hunt birds and creating a more natural environment.

“The apparent one and only otter left at the Zoo has dirty water,” the post read. The zoo explained that the water is cleaned twice a week. The cleaned-out water is then reused in their wetlands. They claimed that the green water was due to the rainfall.

Arnolds responded to the rat complaint, “We know that where there is food, that there is a chance for rodents or cockroaches. The zoo uses bait stations to control the rodent population. It is a common worry to the community in regards to methods used to control rodents, such as poison or unethical procedures.

Pest control and hygiene officer at the zoo, Xolani Sibuyi said that snap traps are used inside certain enclosures such as the baboons. Others use chemical traps. The Gazette enquired as to the possible threat to other animals that may eat or come into contact with the rats. “We ensure that there is no chance of secondary poison, an animal would have to consume many rats at once to be even be affected,” said Sibuyi.

“We are a conservation society. We use preventative measures of control but ensure conservation all around. There are no adverse impacts to other animals,” added Maduka.

Management said that the litter issues have been addressed with particular vendors and a strong no-litter policy is being implemented.

The alleged 5×5 tiger enclosure complaint was addressed. Caretakers walked the media through the overnight cages which are used to enclose the striped giant cats when the grass is being cut and overnight. The tigers, in fact, have access to all three-night rooms when inside. The curious nature of the tigresses means they generally gravitate to the glass window to look back at their onlookers which was evident on the visit and on previous occasions when the Gazette inspected the zoo.

Finally, the dilapidated ablution facilities are attributed to the ageing 116-year-old infrastructure. Lombard Shirindazi, executive manager at the zoo said, “The ablution in question is going to be demolished and a new one built. We do not see the need to renovate the block if we are just going to demolish it soon.” The team did take note that the stall should have been cornered off better.

In conclusion, the management team thanked the woman who created the post and encouraged the community to keep them on their toes. “It is through posts like that and concerns from the public that help us modernise and keep up to world-class standards.”

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