San Francisco Zoo Has Chance to Claw Its Way Back Into Favor

For years, animals at the San Francisco Zoo lived in a concrete jungle.

Bears slept in concrete dens, elephants roamed cement plains, monkeys played on a rocky island--habitats far different from their natural environments.

In fact, the situation was so distressing that in 1989, the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals issued a scathing report charging zoo animals had suffered “decades of serious neglect.”

But changes are on the horizon for the seaside zoo as the private, nonprofit San Francisco Zoological Society prepares to take over day-to-day operations from the city. The city will continue to subsidize $4 million of the zoo’s $12-million annual budget.

Problems began snowballing as the zoo, built in 1928, failed to make the transition from a place simply displaying exotic beasts to a facility concerned with education and animal conservation.

Staff morale was deteriorating, equipment was outmoded, animals lived in poor conditions and the city, facing severe budget shortfalls, continually cut funding.

“All you have to do is tour the zoo,” said SPCA Director Richard Avanzino. “The place is, for the most part, in a dilapidated state.”

The situation has become so volatile that the American Assn. of Zoological Parks and Aquariums has delayed reissuing accreditation because of the zoo’s bleak financial outlook.

“Without a quick infusion of money, the zoo will stay in a suffering condition for at least another decade,” said Avanzino, a longtime critic whose agency monitors the care of the animals.

The zoological society has in the past stepped forward to bridge some financial gaps, including providing nearly $500,000 for upgrading the elephant pen.

David Anderson, director of the zoo, said the society plans to raise at least $10 million by July 1, when the zoo changes hands.

“Really, this is the beginning of a real renaissance for the San Francisco Zoo,” Anderson said.

Although the bears still sleep in an unnatural setting, the society funded the construction to upgrade the elephant quarters and has closed Monkey Island, a huge structure made of stone.

Top priorities are building new leopard cages by next January, an African savanna and 20 other smaller renovation projects.

The AAZPA accreditation committee noted in a letter to zoo officials last year that “animal care procedures are excellent given the antiquated facilities.”

But for many years, care procedures were downright unbearable.

The patas monkeys, orangutans and gorillas all looked healthy, but what zoo veterinarians couldn’t see was that some were suffering from internal maladies, including spinal arthritis and dental problems. The zoo had no system for preventive medicine.

“Before, the philosophy of the zoo tended to be more hands-off. If it isn’t broke, don’t try to fix it,” said Freeland Dunker, a part-time veterinarian.

It wasn’t until chief veterinarian Avery Bennett arrived about a year ago that medical staff discovered the illnesses and began a regular vaccination schedule, a first for the facility, and a 30-day quarantine for all incoming animals.

Budgetary belt tightening has prompted a nationwide trend in switching zoo management to private, nonprofit zoological societies. Some larger zoos--including in San Diego, Atlanta and New Orleans--have already made that change.

The decentralization of zoo management means not relying on decreasing city budgets and being able to make expedient upgrades unhampered by city bureaucracy.

Avanzino noted how Chester the giraffe was forced to wait months before the city approved money for a safe facility for badly needed hoof surgery. During that period, Chester’s condition worsened and caused permanent damage to his hoof.

Before the city completed its review process, the zoo society stepped in and provided the $20,000 for the facility.

Avanzino said he was still skeptical of the zoo’s future but added that its prospects are an improvement over the status quo.

“Without this (zoological society) agreement, there is no hope and the animals will lose,” he said.