FOX: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (AP) – Animals by the hundreds are being set free as Buenos Aires closes its 140-year-old Palermo zoo.
Among the first to leave will be birds of prey like owls and chimangos, destined for a reserve along the shores of the Rio de la Plata south of the capital. They will be placed there in larger confines that will give them room to stretch and strengthen their winds before they’re ready for the wild.
Others among the 1,500 animals at the zoo are destined for reserves in Argentina and abroad as their old home is transformed into a park.
Some animals will have to stay due to age or illness, including a lion cub with hypothyroidism, an elderly anteater and a snow leopard.
I visited that zoo a few times when I was a lad living in Buenos Aires. It was a sad place, designed without any consideration for the nature of the animals it housed. I am glad it is being closed.
They’re free – – free at last!
Exotic meats, anybody? oh, wait, nobody there has any money either. Maybe they can grind up the animals and use them instead of toilet paper.
Must look like a scene from Jumangi!