![\"Pandas](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.animals24-7.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picsart_25-02-02_19-53-19-452-e1738554868465.jpg?ssl=1\")
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<\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n SAN FRANCISCO,\u00a0 California\u2013\u2013<\/strong>Back when newspapers were the major medium of mass communication,\u00a0 a staple of low comedy was the riddle, \u00a0\u201cWhat\u2019s black-and-white and red (read) all over?\u201d<\/p>\n These days the answer might be not \u201cThe newspaper,\u201d\u00a0 but rather,\u00a0 \u201cZoo books after committing more than a million bucks a year to leasing a giant panda from China,\u00a0 and then spending more millions on panda facilities before taking delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a> National Zoo panda poster.<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n There is no shortage of evidence that exhibiting giant pandas can markedly boost zoo attendance.\u00a0 Still a novelty to zoo-goers,\u00a0 53 years after China made the first panda loan to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington,\u00a0 D.C.,\u00a0 a pair of giant pandas and their baby,\u00a0 exhibited at the National Zoo for 10 years,\u00a0 reportedly drew 250,000 visitors in the last six weeks before they were flown back to China in October 2023.<\/p>\n Now packing the National Zoo,\u00a0 despite harsh winter weather,\u00a0 are a new giant panda pair,\u00a0 on exhibit since January 24,\u00a0 2025.<\/p>\n The city-owned San Francisco Zoo during the summer of 1984 exhibited two giant pandas for three months,\u00a0 attracting a season record 409,000 visitors and annual record attendance of 1.4 million.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Current San Francisco Zoo director Tanya Peterson projects that a giant panda exhibit now in planning might draw attendance of 1.2 million,\u00a0 enough to pull the 95-year-old zoo out of decades of economic doldrums.<\/p>\n But the scheme would cost $25 million up front,\u00a0 and as much as $70 million over the planned duration of the panda loan.<\/p>\n Real estate developer John McNellis,\u00a0 identified by Sooji Nam of CBS San Francisco as a top donor to the San Francisco Zoo for 20 years,\u00a0 is among those not buying it,\u00a0 with personal net worth of $9.5 million and a long history of knowing how to make money behind him.<\/p>\n The evidence that giant panda exhibition is a giant economic success in the long run is at best inconsistent.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n In November 2024 the Ahtari Zoo in Ahtari,\u00a0 Finland sent two giant pandas back to China,\u00a0 seven years into a 15-year loan and after having invested $8 million to build their habitat,\u00a0 because the zoo could no longer afford the $1.5 million per year to keep them.<\/p>\n In 2020 the Calgary Zoo sent two giant pandas back to China only two years into what was supposed to have been a five-year loan.<\/p>\n In 2018,\u00a0 the first year the Calgary Zoo hosted the giant pandas,\u00a0 they attracted 1.5 million people,\u00a0 slightly more than the two-week annual Calgary Stampede,\u00a0 which itself enjoyed record attendance.\u00a0\u00a0 But interest in the giant pandas soon fell off.<\/p>\n Even before COVID-19 hit,\u00a0 it was clear that giant pandas were not to be confused with cash cows.<\/p>\n <\/a> John McNellis. (X photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cUntil we have a new administration at the zoo, we are going to withhold contributions,\u201d McNellis told Nam on February 1,\u00a0 2025.<\/p>\n Summarized Nam,\u00a0 \u201cOver the years, \u00a0McNellis said, \u00a0the zoo has become even more run down and is in desperate need of refurbishment. \u00a0When he found out that the zoo got the green light to fund a $25 million panda project, \u00a0he was disappointed by the zoo\u2019s direction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAny number of exhibits are empty,\u201d\u00a0 complained McNellis.\u00a0 \u201cAny number of future exhibits are promised,\u00a0 and have been promised for years,\u00a0 but there are fewer animals there now than there used to be.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a> San Francisco Zoo director Tanya Peterson. (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Recalled Nam,\u00a0 \u201cBringing the giant pandas to the San Francisco Zoo was one of former mayor London Breed\u2019s passion projects,\u201d\u00a0 but Breed recently left office.<\/p>\n New mayor Daniel Lurie,\u00a0 inaugurated in January 2025,\u00a0 is not committed to investing city money in a panda loan.<\/p>\n The leading giant panda loan booster,\u00a0 apart from Tanya Peterson,\u00a0 now appears to be former San Francisco city administrator Bill Lee.<\/p>\n \u201cChina wants to, \u00a0I would say, \u00a0export these pandas to learn how to conserve them. \u00a0They are an endangered species,\u201d \u00a0Lee told Nam.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n But the giant panda conservation center in Chengdu,\u00a0 China,\u00a0 opened in 1987,\u00a0 has bred giant pandas so successfully that they are in fact no longer listed as \u201cendangered\u201d or even \u201cthreatened\u201d by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.<\/p>\n Giant pandas are still listed as \u201cvulnerable,\u201d\u00a0 but there are now nearly 2,000 giant pandas in the wild,\u00a0 thanks to Chinese efforts to restore bamboo forests,\u00a0 and as many as 600 giant pandas in captivity,\u00a0 many of them farmed out to zoos outside of China as a lucrative export.<\/p>\n The city of San Francisco subsidizes the San Francisco Zoological Society with about $4 million a year to keep the zoo open,\u00a0 according to Lee.<\/p>\n <\/a> Former San Francisco city administrator Bill Lee. (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Countered McNellis,\u00a0 to Nam,\u00a0 \u201cThe city has basically been starving the zoo for the last 20 years. \u00a0The zoo administration is in a tough position. \u00a0They don\u2019t have enough money to absolutely run the zoo as it should be.\u201d<\/p>\n Money \u201cNeeds to be spent on sidewalks, buildings, \u00a0bring up the landscaping and all the overgrown trees. \u00a0The poor zoo looks shabby, \u00a0frankly,\u201d\u00a0 McNellis told Nam,\u00a0 and that has actually been true for more than 50 years.<\/p>\n \u201cBringing in pandas today to our zoo would be exhibiting the Mona Lisa in an old, \u00a0cracked, \u00a0leaking barn,\u201d\u00a0 McNellis alleged.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Noted Nam,\u00a0 \u201cThe Leaping Lemur Caf\u00e9 on site was shut down in January 2025 after reports of rodent infestation.<\/p>\n \u201cLast October, \u00a0the zoo came under fire after an audit report compiled by the San Francisco Animal Control & Welfare Commission called the facility outdated and unsafe for animals and visitors. \u00a0They also added that with the exhibits nearing 94 years old, \u00a0it would be unethical to move forward with the panda project until the facilities are improved.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of infrastructure issues,\u201d\u00a0 Lee conceded, \u00a0\u201cbut that really has not a lot to do with pandas. \u00a0I believe with the pandas coming, there will be more funding they can spread out to all the parts of the zoo,\u201d \u00a0Lee hoped.<\/p>\n <\/a> Maggie, Minnie and Cobby lived together at the San Francisco Zoo for 51 years.\u00a0 Cobby died in 2021.\u00a0 See Former child star chimp Cobby, 63, had troubling hidden past.<\/a>\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n The San Francisco Animal Control & Welfare Commission report was authored chiefly by Jane Tobin, \u00a0\u00a0who is both member of the San Francisco Commission of Animal Control & Welfare and a zoo advisor.<\/p>\n Tobin told media after releasing the report that she produced it prompted by an April 2024 San Francisco Chronicle <\/em>article detailing concerns about animal welfare and employee safety,\u00a0 voiced to Chronicle <\/em>reporters by zoo staff.<\/p>\n The San Francisco Board of Supervisors responded to the Tobin report by voting to request a financial and management audit of the zoo, \u00a0last done in 1999.<\/p>\n But San Francisco Zoological Society board chair Melinda Dunn complained that the Chronicle<\/em> coverage of the report had harmed fundraising.<\/p>\n Tanya Peterson wrote to city attorney David Chiu and Board of Supervisors president Aaron Peskin demanding that the Tobin report be retracted.<\/p>\n <\/a> Justin Barker & pandas.\u00a0 (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n If Dunn and Peterson thought San Francisco Chronicle<\/em> coverage of the zoo has been harsh over the past year,\u00a0 though,\u00a0 they must not have read a critique by SF Zoo Watch founder Justin Barker,\u00a0 published on September 26,\u00a0 2024 by the rival SF Standard<\/em>.<\/p>\n Tanya Peterson, \u00a0\u201ca lawyer with little experience with animals or nonprofits, took the helm as interim director after the 2008 tragedy when a tiger named Tatiana escaped her enclosure, \u00a0killing a teenager before being gunned down by police,\u201d\u00a0 Barker began.<\/p>\n \u201cSince then, Peterson, \u00a0earning a staggering $358,000 annually \u2014 even more than the mayor herself \u2014 has remained in control,\u201d\u00a0 even though \u201cno fewer than 97% of the zoo\u2019s union members twice cast a vote of no-confidence in Peterson,\u201d\u00a0 Barker charged.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cAccording to interviews with former and current zoo employees, \u00a0Joint Zoo Commission meetings, and a draft report from the City Animal Welfare Commission,\u201d\u00a0 Barker wrote, \u201cthe San Francisco Zoo is crumbling. \u00a0Many of the animals are confined to century-old concrete pits. \u00a0Gorillas wade through flooded moats during storms; \u00a0koalas sit cramped indoors because their outdoor space is too small; \u00a0and orangutans live on sad 10-by-10-foot islands surrounded by moats.<\/p>\n \u201cFran\u00e7ois\u2019 langurs live in chain-link cages that are so small, the animals can\u2019t properly swing around the enclosure. \u00a0The penguins are dosed with fungicide to survive their shallow pool. Chimpanzees? \u00a0They\u2019re within grabbing distance of visitors.<\/p>\n \u201cStaff are stuck working in dilapidated trailers, \u00a0battling leadership just to get basic safety measures. \u00a0Many of the staff have left or were pushed out. \u00a0The zoo has experienced numerous unsafe incidents, \u00a0including animal escapes, \u00a0thefts, \u00a0and negligent deaths,\u201d\u00a0 Barker recounted.<\/p>\n Media coverage in the ANIMALS 24-7<\/strong> files confirms most of the allegations.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cImagine a zoo director attempting to house agile, expert-climbing predators in an open-top grotto,\u201d\u00a0 Barker went on.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst, \u00a0according to a well-placed former employee, \u00a0she [Peterson] attempted to put a jaguar in the 90-year-old Grotto B, \u00a0then a snow leopard. \u00a0Now she wants to put giant pandas in that same space \u2014 where their night quarters will be within sight and smell of African lions. What could go wrong?<\/p>\n \u201cBut, \u00a0hey, \u00a0pandas! \u00a0They\u2019re the magic solution to all of the zoo\u2019s problems!\u201d<\/p>\n For approximately the same estimated cost of the panda loan,\u00a0 Barker argued,\u00a0 the San Francisco Zoo could emulate the Oakland Zoo,\u00a0 on the far side of San Francisco Bay,\u00a0 which \u201cspent that same sum of money on the California Trail, \u00a0doubling the zoo\u2019s footprint and creating naturalistic habitats for wolves and grizzlies. \u00a0That zoo,\u201d\u00a0 Barker said, \u00a0\u201cis actively rehabilitating wildlife \u2014 52 condors and 27 mountain lions to date \u2014 and is helping to reintroduce bison to Blackfeet tribal lands.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cUnder Peterson,\u201d\u00a0 Barker charged, \u00a0\u201cthe San Francisco Zoo has consistently failed to complete key infrastructure projects, \u00a0with a Madagascar exhibit unfinished after six years and an Andean condor project never even started, \u00a0leaving the raptors stuck in old feline cages.<\/p>\n \u201cA tree-dwelling jaguar languishes in a 30-by-40-foot enclosure with no trees,\u201d\u00a0 Barker alleged,\u00a0 \u201cwhile the zoo operates without a master plan \u2014 or even a one-year strategy \u2014 focusing instead on Band-Aid fixes and headline-grabbing gimmicks.\u201d<\/p>\n ANIMALS 24-7<\/strong> is reminded of the ongoing effort by the financially struggling Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater,\u00a0 Florida, \u00a0to win a permit to import five bottlenose dolphins from the Attica Zoological Park in Athens, \u00a0Greece.<\/p>\n (See Will Clearwater Marine Aquarium call on Trump to allow dolphin imports?<\/a>)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nMulti-millionaire donor suggests fixing & finishing the facilities the San Francisco Zoo already has,\u00a0 instead of spending megabucks to import giant pandas while the animals who are there now suffer.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nDC zoo has new pandas<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n$25 million up front<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nGiant panda:\u00a0 eats shoots & leaves<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\u201cAny number of exhibits are empty\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nMayor who wanted pandas is out<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nGiant pandas are no longer endangered<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\u201cThe city has basically been starving the zoo\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\u201cLeaping Lemur Cafe\u201d closed<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nThe Tobin report<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nSF Zoo Watch is harsher critic<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\u201cGorillas wade through flooded moats\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nPandas \u201care the magic solution\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nSan Francisco Zoo & Clearwater Marine Aquarium work from the same playbook<\/h2>\n