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YoYoMoMa t1_je5b5yp wrote

Oh no I saw her when she was just a newborn.

Zoos are...complicated.

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BoobPickles t1_je5n8i4 wrote

Yeah, some have some great purposes. I'm a transplant in Tampa of 8 years and the local zoo has a marine recovery unit for injured manatees. Makes me feel less sad when visiting. Seeing bears that were "nuisances" moved from places like MT makes me feel guilty. These animals have so little territory now.

Edit: I can't type on my phone

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YoYoMoMa t1_je5nl7o wrote

Yeah. And they do a ton of research to try to help species in the wild as well.

Plus, life as a wild animal often fucking sucks so that helps me feel a bit better about it.

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BoobPickles t1_je5o8j7 wrote

Oh yeah, most people don't realize the majority of wild animals lives end in some horrifying ways.

They also do help with the youth becoming engaged with wildlife. The more people we raise who care about conservation the better.

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sxswnxnw t1_je5gbdb wrote

Rest well, Willow. Hopefully on a wide open savannah somewhere on the astral plane.

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garrett0317 t1_je6n68o wrote

What do zoos do with dead animals especially large animals like elephants?

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darththunderxx t1_je6r24p wrote

Harvest test samples for research and cremate the rest

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FriedScrapple t1_je7jjef wrote

How do you cremate an elephant?

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darththunderxx t1_jebqrgy wrote

I googled it yesterday and found an article about the National Zoo. They send it to a lab in College Park and I guess they have equipment

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bmore414 t1_je7u8qo wrote

Old zookeeper.

Every zoo animal that dies or is euthanized is required to have an autopsy. Small animals can be sent to the pathologist but large animals need to have the autopsy done at the zoo. The veterinarian who cared for this giraffe had to take part in her autopsy, removing organs and cutting her into smaller pieces. The remains were likely cremated.

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Random-Cpl t1_je79stl wrote

Didn’t they just have a giraffe die unexpectedly like a year or two ago? What’s going on?

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terriblehashtags t1_je6dyhw wrote

... okay, really morbid thought, but you don't think they, um, let Willow enter the great circle of life by feeding her body to the lions or something?

I really hope not but I can't stop thinking about it now...

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GO_Zark t1_je6hlos wrote

No, zoos feed their animals a very precise diet every day. Big cats are going to get appropriately sourced meat mixed with vitamins and not meat from a giraffe where the keepers are likely still determining cause of death.

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bee_more_kind t1_je6pt2z wrote

I think they would be hesitant because of COD and potential threat to the predator.

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Expendable_Red_Shirt OP t1_je6iftc wrote

Why would that be morbid?

Pretty sure those lions are eating meat.

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Latirostris t1_je6t1hf wrote

Because the people who care for the giraffes are probably the same people who care for the lions and that's a really fucked up thing to think they would make them do.

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Expendable_Red_Shirt OP t1_je6vjln wrote

I still don’t understand why that is morbid.

Now obviously the zoo isn’t doing this. Animals are on regimented diets.

But it’s not morbid at all. Farmers routinely eat the animals that they personally cared for. I get people like to think of meat as something from a factory but it had a face once. And I’m guessing most, if not all, of the lions’ diets consist of meat. The people who take care of them know that.

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Latirostris t1_je6x0ct wrote

Would you eat your pet when it dies? It's not the same thing. I've raised animals for slaughter before and it's not the same way I think of my pets.

*Just to add: a farmer also has hundreds of animals to look after, they don't develop the type of relationships I would imagine zoo keepers put in with all of the training and specialized 1 on 1 attention they get. Plus that has got to be a violation of alot of USDA rules and the endangered species act.

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PigtownDesign t1_jeb1od1 wrote

When we were kids, my brother spent summers at a friend's farm. He bought a calf (Gracie) and raised it to be slaughtered and sold. My dad wrote an article for the Sun about this circle of life, and for WEEKS afterwards, people would call us (old days, phone book, home phone) and shout "MURDERERS!!!!" Not too nice for a bunch of kids, who hadn't thought of it like that. And yes, we did eat Grace!

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Latirostris t1_jeba9x9 wrote

I ate the cows I raised too. All I'm saying is it's a different mentality, that's all.

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Expendable_Red_Shirt OP t1_je71j6a wrote

Would I eat my pet? No. But that’s a ridiculous question. I don’t eat any animals of that class. Also these people aren’t eating the giraffe themselves. They’re feeding it to another animal.

Would I object to my pets corpse being fed to a lion? Of course not. That’d be absurd.

Also these aren’t pets.

And of course this didn’t happen. I’m just pointing out it’s no more morbid than anything in nature or anything the lion keepers do daily.

Edit I’ll point out many people are signing up to have their bodies turned into composte for trees and such: literally becoming food for plants. This seems to be a you problem.

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hamburgermenality t1_je7785j wrote

Personally I think I could be a cannibal if I had too without too much cognitive dissonance, but I’m fairly sure I’m an outlier.

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Latirostris t1_je733qd wrote

And that's your opinion. Others, like me feel it is exceedingly morbid and extremely unfeeling to the people who are mourning the loss of this animal.

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Slime__queen t1_je773x4 wrote

It’s weird to argue this much over something that’s definitely not gonna happen, but also, a lot of people find the idea of a body fulfilling some kind of natural purpose or becoming part of a cycle very consoling and meaningful. No need to be so horrified at the mere suggestion some people might see mourning and death differently than you

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Expendable_Red_Shirt OP t1_je77idl wrote

I just don't understand how this is "exceedingly morbid" but eating animals you raised and cared for isn't. Seems pretty much the same except for people choose to eat meat while the lions have to. If anything what the farmers are doing is far more morbid.

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someguyontheintrnet t1_je7o9hg wrote

A buddy of mine wrks for the National Aquarium and he said its against the rules (forget who’s rules) for zoos and aquariums to feed their dead animals to other animals, or raise animals to be fed to other animals. It creates a potential conflict of interest.

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Natty-Bones t1_je6iafc wrote

No, but I can't help but think that any disposal of the body is going to require a chainsaw.

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sxswnxnw t1_je6q6ue wrote

Chain saws are more for murderers in Texas. Maybe a bone saw.

And my guess, they probably cremate them.

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