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Warren argued in favor of the educational benefits of the zoo, and I couldn't ignore my children's desire to visit. But what made me keep that little plastic card in my wallet is the fact that the Memphis Zoo is located in Overton Park next to the Old Forest. The Old Forest is a constant source of information and inspiration to my family. Because we visit it way more frequently than we visit the Zoo, my children have first-hand knowledge of how animals live in the wild...and what the wild is--at least on a small scale. If we did not have the Old Forest to balance out the view of animals that the Zoo presents, I couldn't continue to visit.
Just today I went to the Memphis Zoo to buy a membership for my sister. It's her birthday and she has a two-year-old, so I thought it would be nice.
Turns out, it was. She was thrilled with the gift.
However, I'm having a little buyer's remorse after reading the latest post at Gates of Memphis which shows pictures of the large area of Old Forest that the Zoo recently clearcut in order to build a new exhibit.
After buying the membership for my sister, I went home to meet my husband, my children, my dogs, my friend, and her son for a hike through the Old Forest. As we walked down a trail we've walked down at least a hundred times, we stopped and stared in amazement at something we've never noticed before: A tree growing on top of the trunk of a huge fallen tree. It's roots reached over the uprooted trunk of the dead tree and lunged into the ground on the other side. It was unfathomable. I simply couldn't wrap my mind around how the smaller tree had ended up where it was and how it was surviving. We spent a good thirty minutes investigating the two trees (and their resident mushrooms) from all angles before being able to tear ourselves away.
Next, on our same old trail, I discovered a turtle shell that was completely white. If you looked closely you could see small teeth marks where animals had been snacking on it.
Finally, Satchel found a fallen branch that was so decayed that it crumbled under his feet. A few feet away Warren pointed out a burl that had fallen off of a tree. We all gathered around to check out the sap underneath.
It was just an ordinary day in a most extraordinary place. I left feeling high and in love with my city for preserving this small patch of heaven for me and my family to enjoy. The Zoo, and everyone else for that matter, better keep their fucking chainsaws away from my Old Forest.
The Zoo's (Seriously Hypocritical) Mission Statement
To use science and technology for greater understanding of the natural world's ecosystems, to preserve the biodiversity of our plants and animals and to educate the public on conservation priorities.
At the Memphis Zoo, we have dedicated ourselves to "preserving wildlife through conservation, education and research". As the number of plants and animals threatened with extinction grows, the Memphis Zoo is working to expedite conservation, research and sustainable development in order to preserve our natural world.
We are committed to developing programs that will have a significant impact upon the long-term success and partnerships necessary for conservation.
The Zoo's (Seriously Deluded) Officers
Carol W. Prentiss, Chairman
Gene Holcomb, Treasurer
Joseph C. DeWane, MD, Secretary
James B. Jalenak, Immediate Past Chair
The Zoo's Contact Information (That We All Seriously Need To Use)
2000 Prentiss Place, Memphis, TN 38112
(901) 276-WILD or 276-9453
zooinfo@memphiszoo.org
Or write a letter to the editor of the Commercial Appeal. Email to letters@commercialappeal.com or mail/deliver to The Commercial Appeal, 495 Union Ave, Memphis TN 38103. Be sure to include your name, home address and telephone number. They will call you within a few days to confirm if they plan to print your letter.
5 comments:
Good luck buying a flattened penny in your precious Old Forest. Or a Sno-Cone.
Ouch....That's all the more reason for preserving Old Growth in a nuke-and-pave environment. Edward Abbey best sums up the pervasive attitude of many Memphians: Nature is mainly a good place to throw beer cans on Sunday afternoons.
I loved Green Acres!
Stacey:
I've been very curious to watch this new exhibit area unfold. It is right on my running path and it took me a while to figure out what was going on. That area has always been fenced off (at least since I've been living here). So there was no direct access, but it was full of wildlife. Which I'm guessing have scattered across the way.
I was wondering why I hadn't seen more information on this. Does Park Friends have anything to say? I've not seen any information -- like how much land is available to the zoo? Will they end up taking up the area they use for overflow parking next?
Okay this comment is out of hand. Good thoughts though.
I am middle-of-the-road on this one. I think that zoos, aquariums, tc. can have important educational and conservationist missions - but often they don't do that well and get too commercial. When I was a kid, the Dallas Zoo was a horror with animals in metal cages and all, but they then created huge exhibits with lots of very-close-to-natural habitats that people have to view through observ. windows and got much more educational and I would now say it is worthwhile, although still pretty yucky for a few of the animals. We used to have a membership to the Texas State Aquarium and I took the LSG at least once a week when she was little and thought it very educational and worthwhile - but then the exhibits started to get more commercial in ways that disturbed me and THEN they opened Dolphin Bay where they keep captive bred dolphins who do shows. (You can see wild ones in the bay from inside their fence!) I couldn't go there, so we dropped our membership. Now we go there only when it is a free day (once a year or less) so we can show the LSB some of the still educational stuff left and they won't make any money off of us and we avoid dolphin bay.
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