Donate allowance to cause
I learned in The Seattle Times that the Woodland Park Zoo is going to shut down the nocturnal exhibit [“Zoo plans to close nocturnal exhibit to save $300,000,” NWMonday, Jan. 11]. I am 7 years old and I have been going to the zoo since I was a baby. My favorite place at the zoo is the nocturnal exhibit.
I love the bats and the sloth especially. I learned at the nocturnal exhibit that we need bats so there aren’t too many bugs. Also, the nocturnal exhibit is a really dark and peaceful place.
I would like to donate $10 from the part of my allowance that I share. I have been saving up for something important, and this is important to me. I would like to ask the other children of Seattle, if they love the nocturnal exhibit, to give some of their allowance to support it too. I wonder if we could raise the $300,000 that is needed from all our money together?
— Asa Buehler, West Seattle
Who decided this?
I was surprised to read that the zoo’s very popular Nocturnal House will soon be closing. My daughter and I are zoo members and consider this to be one of our favorite zoo exhibits. I don’t recall being asked for any input as either a Seattle taxpayer or as a member of the Zoological Society.
How was this decision arrived at and what other options are there that would keep this unique exhibit open? Seattle residents need some answers and explanations for what appears to be a very dictatorial decision.
— John Alwin, Seattle
Move the elephants to save money
In Susan Gilmore’s article about Woodland Park Zoo’s plan to close the popular nocturnal exhibit, the zoo claims it will save $300,000 by making this unnecessary move.
If the zoo were to do the compassionate and cost-effective thing, it would accept the Elephant Sanctuary’s offer to transport and keep the zoo’s elephants for life in a much more suitable environment: 2,700 acres of rolling and varied terrain to roam and explore, plus a 15-acre lake to swim in — all in a much warmer climate.
Our three elephants at WPZ need more than one acre and they suffer by being locked into a tiny barn for about 17 hours a day due to our colder climate. It’s funny that the figure for keeping three elephants in the zoo is about $400,000. This humane choice would allow the zoo to keep the Nocturnal House open with about $100,000 left over.
— Nancy Pennington, for the Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants, Seattle