San Francisco, CA
Report finds San Francisco Zoo ‘extremely outdated', unsafe for animals
A report released by the San Francisco Animal Control and Welfare Commission accused the San Francisco Zoo of having “extremely outdated” enclosures and mismanagement.
Animal activists, animal welfare advisors, and veterinarians toured the 95-year-old popular institution. Based on their observations, the report primarily highlighted the size of the enclosures and how long they’ve gone without repairs.
“The safety measures to meet the AZA and USDA enclosure requirements are minimal and even more frightening – unsafe for the animals and visitors,” read the report.
Justin Barker, founder of the San Francisco Zoo Watch, toured the facility and expressed concerns about specific exhibits.
“SF Zoo is one of the worst-run zoos in the country,” Barker said. “All you have to do is talk to former and current staff to understand the full problem.”
Among the corners was the koala habitat. The report stated that it could only hold one Koala at a time, but the Zoo currently had three.
The report added that the jaguar exhibit should be designed to provide the highest security level, including completely encoding the top of the enclosure.
In 2007, Tatinia the tiger escaped her exhibit and killed a visitor.
The Kangaroo habitat was explicitly cited as having a lack of running water.
The SF Zoo responded and said the report had severe inaccuracies.
“As an AZA-accredited institution, we are proud of the industry-leading care and safe habitats we provide for all of our animals,” the Zoo said in a statement.
The report comes a few months after Mayor London Breed announced plans to bring pandas to the facility.
“The Mayor agrees the Zoo is in need of revitalization, which is why bringing a global attraction such as the pandas would be ideal – to expedite and invest in improvements and enhancements where necessary,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.
Barker said it would be irresponsible for the Zoo and city to proceed with a panada plan and asked that the Board of Supervisors conduct an audit.
Ahsha Safai, supervisor for District 11, agreed with Barker and said the Zoo’s owner and city must take the report seriously.
“The welfare commission asked the board of supervisors to do an audit; we’re going to do that; we need a hearing; we need to bring all the parties in a room,” Safai said.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin agreed that the Zoo needs an audit.
“I agree that a comprehensive performance audit of the San Francisco Zoo is overdue,” Peskin said.
Both Peskin and Safai are running for mayor.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums released a statement on Friday that said the Zoo’s current accreditation is based on a few-hour visit in 2022, during which its zoologist saw no significant problems.
San Francisco, CA
Sea lion pup found in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset malnourished but ‘feisty’
A California sea lion pup found last week on a San Francisco street corner is malnourished but “active and quite feisty,” The Marine Mammal Center said Monday.
The sea lion, believed to be about 10 months old, had apparently wandered into city’s Outer Sunset neighborhood and was discovered early Thursday morning, authorities said.
The pup was spotted near 48th and Irving Streets, one block from Ocean Beach and Sunset Dunes park. A trained responder from the Marine Mammal Center was joined by San Francisco park rangers and police officers to safely corral the pup, now named ‘Irving’, into a carrier crate.
Dubbed ‘Irving’ by his rescuers, Irving weighed in at 40 pounds and is considered malnourished, the Marine Mammal Center said.
“The sea lion is active and quite feisty which is a positive initial sign in terms of general behavior,” the center said in a news release on Monday.
During an exam by veterinarians, a series of blood samples were also taken to determine whether there’s any underlying ailment.
Irving is being tube fed a fish smoothie blend two times per day to boost hydration and weight; offers of whole herring will also begin shortly.
The quick actions by police, recreation and parks staff and Ocean Avenue Animal Hospital gave the young sea lion a second chance at life, said Lauren Campbell, animal husbandry manager at The Marine Mammal Center.
“As a roughly 10-month-old pup in his first year of learning how to forage on his own, this animal has a long road to recovery due to his severe malnutrition,” Campbell said. “We are hopeful that in the coming weeks with continued specialized care that this pup starts to make positive strides toward recovery and release.”
Irving will be held in the Center’s Intensive Quarantine Unit until clearing medical protocols, before likely being transferred this week to a traditional rehabilitation pool pen. A long-term prognosis and potential release timeline are not currently known.
San Francisco, CA
Giants Head Home to San Francisco After Shutout Loss
After Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants headed back to the West Coast. They’re going back to the Bay Area, too.
The Giants have a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series at Oracle Park starting Tuesday night.
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So, San Francisco probably wanted to get out of Washington, D.C., with a win. That didn’t happen at Nationals Park on Sunday afternoon.
Nationals reliever Andrew Alvarez, the third pitcher used by the team on Sunday, picked up the victory with 4 1/3 innings of work. Giants starter Robbie Ray absorbed the loss, falling to 2-3 this season.
Ray worked six innings, giving up seven hits, three runs (all earned), walking one, and striking out seven Nationals. If the Giants’ offense had found a way to tack on some runs, then Ray’s outing wouldn’t have looked so bad.
The Giants’ bats, though, had eight hits. The big number for Giants manager Tony Vitello to look at in the box score after this one was, well, pretty big. San Francisco left 10 runners on base on Sunday, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. This indicates that San Francisco had plenty of opportunities to score some runs.
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They just didn’t get the job done.
Let’s go to the bottom of the fifth with the Giants and Nationals in a scoreless tie. With nobody out, the Nationals’ Keibert Ruiz connected for his third double this season. Nasim Nuñez scored to put Washington up 1-0.
With one out, Curtis Mead sent a Ray pitch over the left-field wall, a two-run blast that gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
San Francisco had a scoring threat in the top of the eighth inning. With runners at first and second base and nobody out, Casey Schmitt grounded into a double play. Matt Chapman, who was on second base, went to third. But the Giants were unable to bring him home.
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Rafael Devers and Drew Gilbert went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Giants, producing half of the Giants’ hits.
The Giants fall to 9-13 this season, sitting in fourth place in the National League West Division. The Nationals’ record goes to 10-12, good enough for third place in the National League East Division.
All eyes now turn toward Oracle on Tuesday night. It’ll be a chance for two longtime rivals to renew their rivalry.
Baseball fans know that the Giants-Dodgers matchups usually are must-see TV.
That’s probably going to be the case once again as Giants fans watch their team battle the Dodgers. Those lucky to have tickets to the three-game series at Oracle Park will show up in Giants colors, hoping to see Los Angeles head back to Southern California with either a series loss or a Giants’ sweep.
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Buckle up, Giants fans. It’s about to get rowdy at Oracle Park.
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San Francisco, CA
Why do gray whales keep dying in San Francisco’s waters?
The 4,140-sq-km bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the US. Before 2018, this species of whales wasn’t known to stop seasonally or consistently in the bay, bypassing it on their migration route down to Baja California and back up the Arctic, said Josephine Slaathaug, who led a recent study on gray whale mortality in the bay.
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