Benito the giraffe arrived in MexicoB次元官网网址檚 arid northern border city of Ciudad Juarez just last month, and already the climate appears to be a problem B次元官网网址� and heB次元官网网址檚 only had to deal with the scorching heat of summer.
The snow and freezing temperatures of winter are still to come, and animal activists are up in arms and pushing a campaign under the hashtag B次元官网网址淪ave BenitoB次元官网网址� seeking to have the animal moved somewhere more hospitable.
On a recent day, the 3-year-old male giraffe could be seen crouching with only its head under a small, circular canopy for shade. The structure did little to protect him from a pelting rain and a hail storm later.
There is also a small shed for winter, but activists say it is cruel for the city-run Central Park to keep the giraffe in a small fenced enclosure, by himself, with only about a half acre to wander and few trees to nibble, in a climate heB次元官网网址檚 not used to.
B次元官网网址淲e have been fighting for a month, a group of animal activists, to demand that he be taken to an animal sanctuary, a zoo, somewhere where there are appropriate facilities and qualified personnel to care for this type of animal,B次元官网网址� said Ana F茅lix, a Ciudad Juarez animal rights activist. B次元官网网址淲e are in the desert here and the climate here is extreme in winter and in summer.B次元官网网址�
Blue Hills, a sanctuary ranch in Texas that rescues animals and books private tours to help offset the cost, has offered to buy or adopt Benito.
B次元官网网址淲e can offer him a brand new heated barn, so in the winter he doesnB次元官网网址檛 stand in the snow and freeze,B次元官网网址� ranch operator Matt Lieberman wrote in response to The Associated Press. B次元官网网址淲e have an on-staff vet that cares for our animals and we have 24-hour staff for him.B次元官网网址�
He added that the giraffe would have 320 acres (130 hectares) to roam in. B次元官网网址淗e doesnB次元官网网址檛 have any trees to browse fromB次元官网网址� at the park in Mexico, Lieberman said. B次元官网网址淗e needs trees to eat from and keep stimulated.B次元官网网址�
Benito appears to have just about finished off the only small trees within his reach at Central Park and can do little more than walk in circles.
Officials at the park reject the criticism, though they acknowledge they canB次元官网网址檛 provide more trees. They say they are working to improve BenitoB次元官网网址檚 compound, saying his presence has been important in boosting the parkB次元官网网址檚 popularity among visitors, largely children. Monthly visits rose from about 140,000 before Benito arrived to 200,000.
Park visitor Derek Reyes, 11, had mixed feelings about Benito.
B次元官网网址淗e could be fine here,B次元官网网址� Reyes said, B次元官网网址渂ut it would also be good if they could take him to a place where they belong, with a herd.B次元官网网址�
Park director Rogelio Mu帽oz said authorities are planning to build Benito a new, heated winter house by September.
The park is also building a larger sun canopy for the giraffe and dredging out garbage and fetid water from a pool that takes up much of the enclosure. Benito will have fresh water in a trough.
B次元官网网址淭he conditions, attention and care in the habitat of the parkB次元官网网址檚 new resident are optimal for his stay,B次元官网网址� the park wrote in a social media message.
Benito was donated by a zoo in the much more temperate climate of Sinaloa, a state on MexicoB次元官网网址檚 northern Pacific coast. Benito couldnB次元官网网址檛 stay with two other giraffes at the Sinaloa zoo because they were a couple, and the male could become territorial and attack the younger Benito.
The giraffeB次元官网网址檚 arrival was a point of pride for Ciudad Juarez, a tough, dusty city across from El Paso, Texas, that is best known for its hundreds of maquiladora assembly factories and its endemic gang violence. El Paso has giraffes at its zoo, the thinking goes, so why canB次元官网网址檛 Ciudad Juarez?
B次元官网网址淲e want to be like El Paso,B次元官网网址� Mu帽oz said.
Central Park, which also holds a few other animal species like ducks and donkeys, invited kids from across the city to come visit the new giraffe; the government of the border state of Chihuahua sponsored a contest among grade schoolers to name him.
The first prize B次元官网网址� about $500 B次元官网网址� went to a little girl who proposed the name B次元官网网址淏enito.B次元官网网址� One critic, Alfredo Casas, commented on Facebook, B次元官网网址淭hey would have done better spending that money on better shade for the giraffe.B次元官网网址�
The park had a giraffe for 21 years named Modesto. He died last year, and activists say they donB次元官网网址檛 want his experience B次元官网网址� being alone and sometimes caught in the snow and frost B次元官网网址� to be repeated for Benito.
B次元官网网址淲hen Modesto died, we thought that was the end of it,B次元官网网址� said F茅lix. B次元官网网址淏ut then they bring us a new animal, and that really isnB次元官网网址檛 fair. It isnB次元官网网址檛 fair to repeat the story of Modesto.B次元官网网址�
Mu帽oz acknowledged that ModestoB次元官网网址檚 life was far from the best B次元官网网址� children who used to visit the giraffe would feed him potato chips and snack foods. But park officials have launched a campaign to teach kids to bring Benito only lettuce and carrots.
Mu帽oz said he also doesnB次元官网网址檛 want Benito to live out his life alone.
B次元官网网址淲hen his quarters are fixed up, his house, with heating B次元官网网址� then we want to bring in a female, because he cannot be alone,B次元官网网址� Mu帽oz said.
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