Even zoo animals suffer under Chavismo at Caracas zoo.
Another victim of Venezuela's unrest: Caracas' once-renowned zoo
"Nothing illustrates the miserable state of the Caricuao zoo more than the dozen vultures circling above the pen of Ruperta, a 46-year-old African elephant who was once the animal park’s star attraction.
Ruperta looks weak and emaciated — even bony along the spine and at her hips. In some parts of her exhibit, she stands knee-deep in weeds. She could be on her last legs, longtime zoo visitors fear, wondering if that’s a possibility sensed by the circling zamuros, as the local birds of carrion are called.
“She’s been here ever since the zoo opened,” said Maribel Garcia, a member of Caricuao Ecological Network, a zoo support group. “It’s not right that she is dying of starvation.”
Ruperta and other Caricuao animals have become living symbols of Venezuela’s collapsed economy and political chaos, evidence that people aren’t the only ones suffering from shortages of food and medicine, poor security and deteriorating public services. The once-prosperous, oil-rich nation now barely functions, a victim of plunging crude prices and, critics say, a corrupt and incompetent government.
The sprawling Caricuao zoo, which marks its 40th anniversary this month, had once been a showcase for tropical wildlife and one of Caracas’ tourist magnets, attracting thousands of visitors on weekends.
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http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-venezuela-zoo-2017-story.html
