Polar Bear Simulacra

The St. Louis Zoo hasn't had much luck keeping its polar bears alive. From riverfronttimes.com:

The zoo's last polar bear, Hope, was euthanized in April when veterinarians found it had cancer. In May 2005 another polar bear, named Churchill, ate a fatal helping of cloth and plastic inside its bin and died while undergoing stomach surgery. Five weeks later, a polar bear named Penny died at the zoo from infection. Turns out, she had two dead fetuses inside her uterus, though zoo officials didn't know she was pregnant.

Their solution has been to install a family of robotic polar bears in the empty polar bear exhibit. In 100 years, after global warming has caused mass extinctions, maybe zoos will consist primarily of robotic animal simulacra!
(Thanks, Joe!)

Animals Technology

Posted on Wed Nov 18, 2009


Comments

Sounds like a con to me
People don't go to zoos to
see robots.
Posted by Sharruma  on  Wed Nov 18, 2009  at  08:51 AM
;-P Big deal. Disneyland has had Lincoln on display for years.
Posted by KDP  on  Wed Nov 18, 2009  at  12:13 PM
It'll cost the zoo an arm and a leg to bring in animatronic visitors when THEY become extinct.
Posted by Eric  on  Wed Nov 18, 2009  at  06:38 PM
You kind of beat me to the joke, KDP. Grrr. I say if it's good enough for the Great Emancipator, it's good enough for those stinky polar bears. Plus there's the safety factor to consider; next time some drunken asshole jumps the fence, he won't get eaten by RoboBear.
Posted by Cranky Media Guy  on  Wed Nov 18, 2009  at  06:47 PM
now why don't all zoos do that? this is a great idea! instead of keeping poor animals locked into cages or whatever, have animatronics. poor beasts should be let free!
Posted by Leo  on  Thu Nov 19, 2009  at  03:48 AM
Thie next polar bear will be a drummer for Spinal Tap...
Posted by Nona  on  Mon Nov 23, 2009  at  06:01 AM
You mean "Global Warming" which is also a hoax? That should be your next article.
Posted by Trace  on  Wed Nov 25, 2009  at  01:45 PM
Robots will be far happier in a zoo than some poor polar bear. Good grief, can you imagine being a giant animal like that trapped in a little enclosure for your entire life?
Posted by Canaduck  on  Thu Jan 21, 2010  at  03:03 PM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.