Thursday, December 12, 2013

National Zoo Director: Animals Dying Because We Are Stretched Too Thin



National Zoo Director: Animals Dying Because We Are Stretched Too Thin
Wednesday, 11 Dec 2013 11:54 AM
By Sandy Fitzgerald
Animal deaths, escapes, and attacks are happening at the National Zoo because the landmark's money and staff are stretched too dangerously thin, Director Dennis Kelly says.

"I can’t spread this staff any more thin than it is now," Kelly told The Washington Post Tuesday.

"It's really the whole zoo — I dare say the whole Smithsonian, as a result of the almost three years now of budget uncertainty and budget cuts," he said.

The zoo is still feeling the effects of the across-the-board sequester ordered earlier this year, which took $40 million from the budget for the Smithsonian Institute, which operates its 19 museums and the zoo.

Internal investigations were ordered following the deaths of three animals during the past year at the zoo's Cheetah Conservation Station. A female red river hog died of septicemia last December after losing a quarter of her weight in eight weeks. The hog, named Holly, weighed 79 pounds when she died, but had weighed 110 pounds when she first arrived at the zoo.

Another animal, a pregnant kudu antelope, died after she ran into a paddock wall, breaking her neck less than a month after she arrived at the zoo.

In addition, the report revealed that veteran zookeeper Wayne Millner was bitten and kicked by a Grevy's zebra after he went into its compound, leaving him hospitalized with severe injuries.

The third animal's death occurred when a Dama gazelle in an adjoining compound, which was startled by the zebra attack, ran into the enclosure's wall.

The National Zoo is famous for its high-profile exhibits such as the giant pandas and Asian elephant. On Dec. 1, it held a large ceremony, complete with a video from first lady Michelle Obama, to announce the name of its female giant panda cub, Bao Bao.

And while the pandas live in a multimillion dollar habitat, and the zoo recently spent $56 million creating a state-of-the-art Elephant Trails complex for up to 10 Asian elephants, Kelly insists the zoo isn't "staffing pandas or elephants any more or less with the international standards" because money for the panda habitat and the elephant exhibit comes from private donations.

"The actual zookeeping aspect of it is at the proportions that are safe and normal for our profession," he said.

National Zoo
Friends of the National Zoo is a support organization for the National Zoo.

Note: James C. Weinberg is a director at the Friends of the National Zoo, and a VP for Booz Allen Hamilton.
Edward Snowden was an employee at Booz Allen Hamilton, and leaked information about the National Security Agency (NSA).
Robert S. Osborne is the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP, and is the president for the Barack Obama administration.
Joseph R. Biden Jr. is the vice president for the Barack Obama administration, and a regent at the Smithsonian Institution.
National Zoo is a member institution of the Smithsonian Institution.
Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory
Please note: This link for the members of the Commercial Club of Chicago can no longer be found.
W. James McNerney Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company.
Barbara G. Fast was a VP at the Boeing Company, a VP for the CGI Group Inc and is a friend of Keith B. Alexander.
Keith B. Alexander is a friend of Barbara G. Fast, and a director at the National Security Agency (NSA).
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Donna S. Morea was the EVP for the CGI Group Inc., and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development, and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Shirley Ann Jackson is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a regent for the Smithsonian Institution.
National Zoo is a member institution of the Smithsonian Institution.
John G. Roberts Jr. is the chancellor for the Smithsonian Institution, and an honorary member of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (Gainesville, VA).
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is the president emeritus of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (Gainesville, VA), an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was the president of the Economic Club of Washington, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Valerie B. Jarrett is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
David M. Rubenstein is trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), the president of the Economic Club of Washington, and a regent at the Smithsonian Institution.
National Zoo is a member institution of the Smithsonian Institution.
Friends of the National Zoo is a support organization for the National Zoo.
James C. Weinberg is a director at the Friends of the National Zoo, and a VP for Booz Allen Hamilton.
Edward Snowden was an employee at Booz Allen Hamilton, and leaked information about the National Security Agency (NSA).
Robert S. Osborne is the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

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