Tigers and Lions and Bears...in the streets eating people

Zoos all over the nation are facing an uphill battle. Often, zoos rely on private donations as a large part of their funding, and keeping up a positive image is crucial. Most zoos would like to keep the focus on their efforts for endangered species and educational programs. Dissent from animal activist groups insisting that animals are mistreated is a persistent problem, and so the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is leading a public relations campaign to ignite enthusiasm for zoos as animal rescue facilities.

Of course it doesn't help things when a tiger escapes, kills a zoo patron and mauls two others. On Christmas Day.


As a side note, these zoos are trying to bounce back from drama such as a monkey dying from the bubonic plague and a gorilla taking off with a three year old.
The AZA is handling their PR load by making crises management a main focus. A crisis management course is taught in their training program. The organizations PR committee hired Steve Feldman from Powell Tate, a Washington PR firm in 2006. Feldman has experience in responding to plane crashes and environmental group scandals.

After the tiger attack, the San Fransisco zoo went into extreme crisis management mode Mr. Feldman had the San Fransisco Zoo officials field questions about the attack while he answered questions about feline care and safety. The zoo hired a crisis PR expert Sam Singer on New Years Eve to relieve an overwhelmed PR staff. The zoo acknowledges that the enclosure was too low, but maintains that the tiger was provoked.

I think that the zoo handled the situation with all of the finesse it could muster in light of the gruesome nature of the crisis. It is a catch 22 for the zoos, who respond to bad publicity about their animal habitats by making them more realistic, and in turn less enclosed and more risky, which leads to more bad publicity.

In the end, the people who work for zoos are people who care about animals and work with the animals' interests at heart. Due in large part to constant criticism and frequent crises, they have their work cut out for them, and they do the best they can in their unique position.

Of course there is still a spider monkey at large, so keep your eyes peeled.