S.F. Zoo's baby giraffe sold to Six Flags

[29yrswithaGApass]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

 

S.F. Zoo's baby giraffe sold to Six Flags

 

SAN FRANCISCO -- What's a baby female giraffe worth? A cool $70,000.

 

That's the price the San Francisco Zoo charged Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for Barbro, who was born at the zoo a year ago and moved to the amusement park earlier this month.

 

Bob Jenkins, the zoo's vice president of external affairs, said the zoo always planned on selling the giraffe.

 

Giraffe herds usually only have one male, who will breed with all of the females. Since the only male in the current herd is Barbro's father, that wouldn't work. Both the father and Barbro's half-brother had starting showing a non-platonic interest in the young female.

 

The zoo's giraffe exhibit is also getting crowded - two others are expecting babies in the next couple months. Barbro was orphaned last year when her mother, Gezi, died of cancer.

 

Officials said Barbro is doing well in her new digs with four other giraffes.

 

But Deniz Bolbol, an animal welfare activist who is often at odds with the zoo, criticized the transaction.

 

"This is like the exactly animal welfare problems we've had in past," she said, adding that the Discovery Kingdom giraffe exhibit is much smaller than the zoo's and was the site of a fire in 2007 that killed one giraffe.

 

"I can assure you that the local community, which cares about animals, would not agree that an amusement park is an appropriate place for a giraffe to live," she said.

 

Jenkins said the zoo settled on Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo because of its proximity and the fact that the zoo's veterinary staff and animal keepers have contacts there.

 

Nancy Chan, a spokeswoman for Six Flags, noted that the park has a brand new giraffe facility, and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and regulated by the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture.

 

"The animal care staff vetted the facility," Jenkins added. "Everything was done with animal welfare in mind."

 

Turns out females fetch way more than male giraffes - about 14 times more in this case. "Females are worth more because you only need one bull, so males don't get as much on the open market - less than $5,000," Jenkins said.

 

The money from the sale also can't hurt: The zoo has faced a number of financial problems over the past year and is in need of millions of dollars worth of upgrades to its aging animal facilities.

 

I am surprised Great Adventure's Safari didn't have an extra!