So so.....Really!
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 8/3/10
Well, I am a Winnipeger.
I just went to the Assiniboine Zoo today and discovered a few minor changes.
There was a new Eagle exhibition. (Two very huge amazing sea eagles).
However, their "cage" was not sufficiently spacious for such roaming creatures. Their wingspan is at least 1.5 meters, and when I saw one of the eagles flying, I noticed that it couldn't really actually fly. Nowhere near even a feet of flying distance. It pretty much flies from the tree branch where it usually hang out to the ground (up and down). There is no way you can see them in flight for even a second. I feel sorry for those eagles. All they do throughout the day is either sit on the ground near the artificial pond or on the branch. So on one hand it is a new exhibition, but on the other hand, it is stressful for both visitors and the animals.
Another cool thing is an abundance of hand-sanitizing stations throughout the zoo. The only problem is that I couldn't even find one that had any liquid/foam inside. I tried about 5 stations and they all were depleted. I wish the staff could replenish at least some of them. Especially at the "farm" where visitors pet animals; donkeys, rabbits, ponies and such. It would be nice if people could sanitize their hands after to prevent the spread of bacteria and whatnot.
Generally, I am happy with the admission price ($4.60 for an adult as of August 2010).
But....there is of course the drawback of price:quality ratio.
Out of about 50 exhibits I got to see today, literally a THIRD of them were empty. I understand that some animals were sleeping or napping, but I saw at least 20 exhibits with the either of the following signs:
1) "Construction in process" despite the fact that the site / cage hasn't been even visited by anyone, confirmed by a presence of spider webs and general "rundown" look. I saw the same cages "under construction 2-3 years ago.
2) "There was an animal here"
3) NO SIGN and NO ANIMAL
4) Sign but no animal (even though there wasn't a little door for the animal to go elsewhere, which means it didn't "go to sleep").
5) "We've moved" (no indication as to where to)
Overall, I think the admission rates for everyone should be raised by 2 bucks at least. People go and spend hundreds of dollars on junk and crap in Casino Regent, 10$ for a lot of people is nothing major. A meal in Mcdonald's that will most like induce a stomach ache is 10$. Not sure why an admission to the zoo can't be 7$ each. The country, province, and the city must educate kids on respect towards animals and the importance of preservation. If the greedy city could take 5 cents off of each parking ticket in downtown for a period of 1 year, it could probably endow a few million dollars to the zoo and the animals shelters.