Visited a small local zoo today! Pics inside.

[Hedorah99]

Beardsley? Isn't that Hedorah99's turf?

Yes it is.

To allay any fears (even though thsi post is 2 years old)

The gators are fine. A little algae in the water is not bad. The chemistry of the water is fine, its just a little green. Gators and turtles are not usually friendly but when the gators are well fed enough that they have no desire to hunt, it usually works out fine.

Its not a bobcat, its a lynx. I agree the cage is too small BUT we are trying to build some larger ones. Small privately run zoos cannot just build cages at whim. We do have their health and well being as a primary concern.

And yes, the bald eagles were non releasable injured animals. One was the victim of DDT poisoning, the other lost a wing due to gunshot. They have since both passed on, being relatively 25 and 27 years old.

 

[Binky/Carol]

I used to go to the Sacramento zoo in Calif, many of the cages are around that size.
Did any one notice the vulture/buzzard had jesses on? Which means they probably use it and the eagle for educational purposes.
The Lynx may be harness trained as well.
Many animals end up in zoo's or in rescues because as a young animal they are sold through the exotic pet trade.
There are several exotic animal rescues in the midwest, I donate to a few, and they came to a convention I go to once a year.
They had a Fennec fox that had been a pet, a canadian lynx that had been a pet. A Red Tailed hawk, taken as an eyas and feed beef and steak, not wild animal parts, he had brittle bones because of it, had broken one wing more than once, and had to wear a cockatoo harness ( which he hated) because he had broken a leg bone while wearing jesses.
THey can't release owls if they have lost sight in one eye. THey can't hunt.
There is a place near me that got a couple of captive bred artic foxes from a fur breeder, they are breeding them for the pet trade. You can buy them, but apparently you cannot get rabies vaccinations for them. If they ever bite some one.. you have to put them down..
The exotic pet trade also sells large cats, wolf hybrids and almost every thing you can thing of.
If they are lucky they end up in a zoo, or in a rescue.
Nice pics, reminds me of the zoo I used to go to.