35 Zoo Animals Freeze To Death In Northern Mexico

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Thirty-five animals at a zoo in the northern Mexico state of Chihuahua have frozen to death during the region's coldest weather in six decades.

Serengeti Zoo owner Alberto Hernandez says 14 parrots, 13 serpents, five iguanas, two crocodiles and a capuchin monkey died. He said Saturday that power failures cut off electrical heating at the zoo in the town of Aldama.

Temperatures have dropped to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 13 Celsius) in the area, the coldest weather in 60 years.

Power outages have affected much of northern Mexico, forcing factories and businesses to close. Dozens of people are in shelters. Schools have been closed in Chihuahua state but are expected to open Tuesday as the weather warms.

Comments

[Ipanemagirl]

12:01 PM on 03/08/2011

They dont deserve to have a zoo if they cannot even keep their animals safe during change of weather conditions. Parrots do well with a electric blanket over their cages for example,gas heaters can be installed in cages, blankets offered, there is no excuse for this massacre except total incopentence or indifference.
Shame on them!
Actually even as a child I hated zooos, as I felt the pain of the animals being locked up! Only safari style zoos are ok with me, where animals have more freedom and natural environment.

[Nautical]

08:32 PM on 02/15/2011

Zoos are here for people entertainment. If not for them what else would they do with there kids to be amused for the day? I have kids but I was being sarcastic at the same time. Sure there fun to look at BUT if a human being is going to put many animals in their hands, it's their job, as a professional to take care of them. Freezing to death is so very neglectful of them. Their job is to control their climate. If the owners made it through that dreadful 0 below, so should have thoes animals. Or I forsee 35 counts of murder in the 3rd Degree... Don't you?

[The Daily Maul]

06:47 PM on 02/08/2011

While The Associated Press, in its February 5 report, put the death toll at 35 -- a number provided by Mr. Hernandez -- CNN put that number, in a report published yesterday (February 7), at 65 -- a number also provided by Mr. Hernandez.

I wrote about this yesterday in a blog post titled "Sixty-Five Die in Mexican Concentration Camp," which I invite you to read here: http://thedailymaul.com/?p=1260

[Abby Lemonade]

09:38 PM on 02/14/2011

that is a righteous blog you have there....thanks for posting, I wouldn't have known about it.

[Edy Williams]

02:51 PM on 02/08/2011

Part of your chance to feel Joy in your life, is to do a rescue anyway you can,that means going into immediate acton. Building a canvas cover quickly,doing an improvisation makeshift,throwing out Blankets,there are Solutions to power shortages. hoping they are not lost in vain,may there be future Items,batteries? set aside for these special ones that you must have adored on a daily basis.

[story1]

03:14 PM on 02/08/2011

Agreed. The fact that these animals died freezing in a zoo is a testament to the laziness of the zoo management, and probably its corruption. Greed over safety and preparedness. Despicable.

[Kim Kaliszewski]

06:06 AM on 02/08/2011

I had a look at that zoo's website and at photos from people who had visited said zoo (and who were horrified by the conditions there): I hate to say it, but freezing to death was probably a mercy for those poor animals. (As for the "poor suffering humans," loki, this is a story about a tragedy at a zoo; you're threadjacking.) Certainly, not all zoos are bad; many perform necessary conservation work, provide humane conditions, and are staffed by compassionate, competent workers. Given our prime directive as humans-- destroying the planet as efficiently as possible-- zoo life is becoming a last, best chance for many species. Or should we just let poachers, pollution, and habitat loss take their course and say, self-righteously, "That's just the natural course of things"...? I only hope that that Chihuahua nightmare of a zoo hasn't the funds to replace the animals that it murdered through neglect.

[loki]

02:22 AM on 02/08/2011

this is very horrible indeed. these animals dont deserve this. But I am sure millions around the world will help in financial and have much sympathy for these poor animals. Unlike the millions of people our ivy greed capitalist have put out on the streets who have or may freeze and starve to death this year around the world. Why? because people never get the same sympathy as animals. But neither should be made to suffer by the hand of man. But both often do,and its often done by just a few of the elitist.

[MrJoyboy]

04:03 PM on 02/07/2011

Mexico can't even take of its people, so you know it will have trouble taking care of animals.

[chucknchar]

07:57 PM on 02/07/2011

What country can?

[loki]

02:23 AM on 02/08/2011

like America.. But at least Mexico has some kind of universal health care and affordable medication. At least they beat us in that respect.

And dont say we have better health care. Its only better , if you can afford it. In mexico or the USA.

[Ipanemagirl]

12:09 PM on 03/08/2011

Here we have Fox news and the dumbing down of america for the sake of corporations and the rich, which will have their way with all of us soon, if republicans are allowed to have their way.

[Max Shaw]

01:09 PM on 02/07/2011

And this is yet another shockingly obvious reason why we shouldnt have zoos.

[KarlaElisa]

01:18 PM on 02/07/2011

Agreed.

[LeyLewStyle]

02:48 PM on 02/07/2011

I agree

[greatdane5]

11:53 AM on 02/07/2011

3rd world countries shouldn't be allowed to have zoos.

[orangeboxx]

09:31 AM on 02/07/2011

They are not dead! They are just sleeping... Don't wake them. :(

[PKW57]

05:59 AM on 02/07/2011

Look around us. It's not global warming we should be worried about, it's global cooling! Look at the record snows and low temperatures! Animals are dying for goodness sake! How could it be anything else?

Those blazing hot summers? Those are caused by the overall instability in our climate that global cooling is causing. Record heatwaves in the summer don''t mean we have global warming. Rather, they are indicative of the catastrophic global cooling taking place.

We need to immediately start pumping trillions of dollars into the heating industry to stave off this catastrophe in the making. A federal mandate that every citizen buy a space heater and leave it running 24/7 would be a good start. This would create heat on a local scale to offset cooling in the short term while the carbon dioxide generated to provide all the extra electricity would mitigate the cooling effect globally over the long term.

I've got all of this in a 78 page Power Point. Does anyone know the mailing address of the Nobel Committee? I'm not really a scientist but that shouldn't matter. I'm sure this brilliant work qualifies me for a Nobel Prize

[Peter Coti]

06:46 AM on 02/07/2011

While it is getting cooler in some parts it is getting hotter in others. The north pole is getting warmer and warmer and all the cold air meant for it is movie south, hence the brutal winter.

[Deucejack]

01:00 PM on 02/08/2011

You live in a place of make-believe.

[Conan776]

07:23 AM on 02/07/2011

Peter gets it. The reason storm systems are further south this year is because the arctic is warmer than ever for a Northern winter. Warm air expands, so the arctic's 3 main high pressure systems (which spin around on the top of our little blue marble of a planet ~ once a week) are pushing all the snow etc. further south than ever. Hence Boston is getting Canadian snowfalls roughly every 3 days.

It might be a fluke that the arctic is so warm but it it's not warmer because of "global cooling"

[e paw]

10:08 AM on 02/07/2011

It is no fluke. I think global warming started long before the industrial revolution, when man started farming.

[CoyoteMan]

01:27 AM on 02/07/2011

That is a shame. But of course the Grizzlies won't freeze. The cold is their world.
Yes I have not fond memories of Cuidad Juarez. If the way they treat people is any indication the poor animals never had a chance.

[OLEGAR]

02:48 PM on 02/07/2011

I'll bet the drug pushers didn't worry about the cold.

[dim]

01:24 AM on 02/07/2011

At least hypothermia is merciful.

[Demgirls]

01:14 AM on 02/07/2011

Terrible news.

[thwartedvillainy]

12:45 AM on 02/07/2011

Wait... so no grizzly bears died, yet they led the story with a picture of grizzly bears?

[Dualcitmom]

10:40 AM on 02/07/2011

Having a picture of a parrot just isn't sensational enough. HP has to beef it up a notch...Cobra pictures tend to replace stories of garden snakes...Great white shark pictures replace stories of say common reef sharks...on and on and on...

[OLEGAR]

02:51 PM on 02/07/2011

Amen and amen. Too much of this misleading headlining gets tiresome. And all those TiTTilating leading photos with no titii$ either.(:> !