Winnipeg, 2nd day

Andreas Paepcke
Aug 8, 2017 · 4 min read

Nice day in Winnipeg. First, the zoo, then (eat your vegetables), the
Museum of Human Rights. Followed by a large indoor food market, and a
1/2 hr river tour. I’ll just include the first two. Before I forget: I passed 3000 miles.

Zoo

Why the zoo, you ask. One, I have not been to one in decades, and two,
they have six polar bears, and wolves. I began the visit by stymieing
three layers of zoo administration hierarchy with a simple
question: “How did the philosophy of the zoo change over the decades?”
Didn’t get an answer, till I met the local info angel.

My expert this time

She was a bit quirky, but she did know how the zoo works. The upshot:
modern zoos are in large part for preservation, only secondarily about
exhibiting to people. Though the latter is crucial, because you need
population support. Many exhibits were aimed at garnering that
support.

Habitats are now much more modeled to resemble the animals’ home
habitat. From size to variety of ‘furnishings’ to the vegetation.

There is no longer a fixed feeding time and place. Emphasis is on
keeping the animals alert and mentally active. So they have to find
the food. For the same reason habitats are continuously changed in
ways that pique the animals’ interest. For example, the polar bear
tank will have a fire hose floating around one day, a large rubber
puzzle the next. For land animals, smells are introduced. If buffalo
are shedding, their keeper might collect some, and the cougar keeper
will introduce a bit into the cat’s cage. Spices and perfumes are used
as well. Anything to keep the animals mentally active.

The animals are trained towards particular goals, exclusively using
positive reinforcement. The training is not for rolling over, or catching balls, though.

Polar bear trained to open their mouth in response to a gesture. Result: dental checks need not be done with tranquilizer.
“High five” training to present paws. Needed to check for cuts and infections.

Habitats, I felt, are wonderfully done, though clearly favoring the
animals’ needs over those of the human viewers.Ty

Typical compromise: For the bison: large area, which makes them difficult to see and photograph.On the other hand: the little hill hides a fence, providing visitors the feeling of being in the prairies.
Similarly: Owl enclosure: See how the tree trunk at least partially covers the central steel support.
Tunnel under polar bear pool
Viewed from inside the tunnel, looking up. Her head is above water. She is playing with a toy, which she retrieved whenever it escaped.
But also a sizable outside tundra-like area for the polar bears. Zoologists study which landscape features the animals in the wild interact with most. Those features are then replicated in the zoo habitat.
Huge blackboard for kids to draw on

Museum of Human Rights

I went in with trepidation, expecting heaps of murdered Rwandans, and
all the other horrors.

At first my fears were someone fanned with this photograph. The theme
hit closer to home, of course, than atrocities.

Photo of institutionalized father with visiting dog from his former home. Though thankfully I don’t own a dog, so this will never be I.

But the museum is well done, and primarily dedicated to where Canada
went wrong over the decades. No finger pointing, but self
examination. Large exhibits and films about Japanese internment and
sale of their property, which I did not know was done in Canada as
well. Much attention to forced assimilation of First Nation tribes by
removal of children from families to foster homes.

The impressive, simple exhibit below is about disproportionately many disappeared native women; most presumably unsolved murders.

Remembering high proportion of disappeared Canadian native women.

Large halls with impressive use of large scale video.

Effective use of video in large halls. (I just missed the right-side screen in use as well.)
Snapshot of video about WWII Japanese internment in Canada. Post WWII legislation is intended to prevent abuses in wartime.

The interior architecture was stunning.

Ramps that lead to the 8 floors. Marble (like?), illuminated.
Inside: All-around video about First Nation rights. See entrance door for scale.

As always, examples of the many considerations for kids.

Why an Eagle?!

Whoever would choose an aggressive creature like a bald eagle for a national emblem?

Why choose an emblem like this? Oozes aggression. Not a friendly bird.
Why not something cute like this for a national emblem?!
Easy to use for, say a poster that advertises the US welcoming immigrants.

Andreas Paepcke

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