The Groundhog Day Debacle of 2021

Greetings, all. I have something to share with you that I would like to keep separate from my "business site," so I have returned to this nearly-defunct blog to do so. If any of this is news to you, it's going to be a bit shocking.

News item in the winter of 2021

On or about Groundhog Day in 2021 (February 3 is the timestamp of this video; if memory serves, this all took place the day before) I was doing a "Virtual Tour" for the Toronto zoo on their Twitch channel (which was operated by BriziCam and is now the "ZooLife" channel on its own site). Some of you will remember seeing me back then, with my half-hour "Expert Talks" several times a week as part of a three-person team, Volunteers all, who had been given the monumental task of keeping the zoo relevant during Covid lockdowns. That month Ontario was in the midst of its second major lockdown, which had begun at the end of the previous November and lasted over half a year in total, necessitating the complete closure of the zoo to any visitors whatsoever during that time. Or, at least, that was the intention.

 

On February 2nd, a "Stay at Home" order was still in effect for all of Ontario. Residents were allowed to venture outside of their homes for essential services (such as groceries), but even then were strongly encouraged to have them delivered in a non-contact manner. Vaccines were not available to anyone in the general public (I cannot remember if some Health-Care Workers had received any yet), and consensus had yet to be reached on whether the virus were airborne or contact-contagious. The zoo, like every attraction with an indoor component and most that were even all outside, was closed to visitors. This was stated on the Ministry of Ontario's Covid information page. Keepers and their support workers were the only ones theoretically allowed on the grounds; all other staff were supposed to be working from home. Volunteers were not allowed under any circumstances, which was quite a hardship for those of us who needed time with the animals for the benefit of our mental health, especially in the dark days of February. I even communicated this on more than one occasion to the zoo's CEO, Dolf Dejong. 

I used the word "theoretically" in that previous paragraph because of what I am about to tell and show you. On Feb 2 I was providing commentary for the camera in the Giraffe House, where mom Mstari, dad Kiko, and eight-month-old Amani (the most valuable giraffe in North America, genetically) were spending their winter months. While we were all watching the camera, we noticed Mstari and Amani standing flush against the back wall, nervously, while Kiko was at the very front of the exhibit, stretching his neck over the wire, clearly interacting with someone out of camera view. Assuming there was a Keeper in there who was perhaps handing out treats, I encouraged the Moderator (who had taken control of the camera, as was usual for the talks) to bring the focus to the area in front of the exhibit so everyone could see what was happening. She did this, and I was absolutely stunned to see what was actually going on. 

[Note: all of this can be seen in the video. This is just a summary of events.]

From Dolf's IG story

In front of the exhibit there was a Keeper (incidentally about six months pregnant at the time) with her back to Kiko, clearly talking to someone just out of view. She reached out her ungloved hand and gave Kiko a treat, then the camera pulled back to reveal... a visitor. A visitor with a mask on (the old, semi-functional type) and no gloves, who stood about a foot away from the Keeper (well inside the stated six-foot-circle for Social Distancing). The keeper then handed this visitor something and they held out their hand for Kiko to eat the treat from them, which he did. This visitor was handed more goodies, but Kiko backed away and the camera followed him, bringing into view a clearly agitated Mstari (who was trying to get away but had no place to go.) There followed some ragged movement of the camera which was common in those days, as when the Mods' cam control ran out (it was on a timer) it became available for anyone watching to point it wherever they wanted. I'd have edited this part out and compressed the video, but I wanted to post this full copy so it would be clear it was in no way manipulated after the fact.  

From Dolf's IG feed

Within a couple of minutes – around the 3:40 mark – the focus returns to Kiko and gradually pulls back to show the front of the exhibit again. Suddenly the camera pulls to our right, and we are shown that there are several guests in the Giraffe House, all standing far too close together, and a second Keeper... and the CEO of the zoo. Dolf is about a foot away from the other Keeper, who is about a foot away from a visitor, who... well, you get the idea. Everyone there appears to get a chance to feed the giraffes at one time or another. I cannot be 100% sure that Jennifer Tracey is also visible in that video, but we (as Volunteers) were later informed that she set this up and was, in fact, there. 

When the food is passed from the Keeper's hand to the guests, there is quite clearly skin-to-skin contact on virtually every occasion. I see no evidence of sanitizer being used at any point; obviously, I cannot guarantee this but most definitely none is used while they are being handed food which then is eaten by Kiko. This happens over and over again, through multiple people. At one point, an unmasked babe-in-arms can also be visible in the video. 

A couple of other points: the giraffes had not (supposedly) seen anyone but their Keepers for over two months at this point so were certainly not used to having crowds in the building; and the group does not leave until the 12-minute mark of this video, meaning that is the least amount of time they spent in tight quarters with the giraffes.

Here is the full video. Afterwards, I have a few more points about the circumstances, and a couple of thoughts about this happening a second time a few weeks later. (I recommend muting this video; the sound is looped music and it gets really annoying quite quickly. I should have cut the sound before uploading it!)

I want to stress here that, no matter what we currently know about the Covid virus, this was in early 2021 where everyone was cautioned to use hand sanitizer frequently; wear masks indoors at all times; social distance at least six feet from everyone else; wear masks outdoors if you cannot maintain social distancing; do not gather in groups of any size that are not all from the same household. Also, a reminder that Ontario and Toronto specifically were under a "Stay at Home" order and indoor public places were closed except for essential services. This was at a time when even stores such as Wal-Mart were made to close off any sections of their stores that did not offer grocery products. In the face of these regulations, the top two executives of a municipally-run institution in the city of Toronto decided these specific rules did not apply to them. Also remember: nobody present that day had been vaccinated yet. Every single thing about this scenario is wrong. 

Oh, but it gets worse. 

From Dolf's IG story

I happened to mention this to a Keeper who worked with the gorillas in the nearby African Rainforest Pavilion while receiving information about her charges for a future talk. She told me she encountered this very same group in her pavilion that day, while she was attending to other animals near the entrance. They stopped her, Dolf in tow, and asked some questions about the birds, I believe, and possibly the pygmy hippos nearby. And here's the thing to understand about this. The gorillas were the single most susceptible animals in the entire zoo to possibly contracting Covid, as they are primates that are about 96-97% genetically similar to humans. The animal care staff were so concerned, in fact, that there were multiple distinct shifts of Keepers looking after the gorillas during the lockdowns, and these shifts were not even allowed to come into contact with each other. Yet, here was a group of strangers, standing inches away, just firing off questions to one of the gorilla Keepers. 

Here are screenshots of what the Keepers told me:

Explanation from Dolf

The explanation from Dolf and Jennifer, as I understood it at the time, was that this was a family to whom the zoo meant a great deal, and one of the members was in a palliative stage of an illness and likely would not survive until the zoo reopened. Heartbreaking, if true. But tough luck, because people were being kept out of hospitals and nursing homes while family members died alone on a daily basis. And a lot of people, to whom the zoo meant the difference between good and bad mental health (such as myself), were not allowed to visit the animals for any reason. I should also point out that the "Health and Safety Team" is one person: Joanne Eaton, who has shown several times that she will agree to anything they ask of her, so any "consultation" was quite one-sided. Notice they did not consult any level of government, who had issued the Stay at Home edicts.

But let's say the compassionate angle was acceptable (which it wasn't, and this sort of decision-making had a lot to do with why the lockdowns lasted so very long in the first place). Why on earth were these people allowed to be indoors, touching a pregnant Keeper, feeding animals, and risking contamination of the gorillas? Even if you could see your way clear to granting this request (as a kind of adult "Make-A-Wish", but clearly being used as a revenue-generator), why weren't they kept outdoors? Many of us were lobbying for the open-air sections of the zoo to remain open the previous November, especially as there was a Christmas Market which was forced to close weeks early because provincial measures forbid the zoo from opening any part of the grounds. At least there could perhaps be a weak case made for this exception. But the way it was handled? Absolutely not. 

Assuming this was the first such incident (which is a pretty huge assumption, I think), Dolf and Jennifer doubled down in April when they did this a second time. I didn't see this on camera, but at the right here is a screenshot from Dolf's Instagram account (but just a "Story," so it disappeared in 24 hours) from this episode. Moreover, in a virtual Town Hall meeting with the Volunteers later in the month, both Dolf and Jennifer proudly informed everyone present that they had done this, even going so far as to tear up about it, which had the predictable reactions from the large majority of the people watching. When you consider the enormous volume of information those two do not communicate to the Volunteer group, it would seem odd that they found it necessary to spill these particular beans, until you realize they were doing it because they feel absolutely untouchable in their decisions, and they wanted to be perceived as heroes in the community. It was a very transparent attempt to manipulate emotions at an extremely difficult time for most of us, but it worked for the most part. I have no record of this particular group going indoors, except for my memories of the retelling of this story, which let us know that there were many more people present than just these three (plus their guide), and they visited roughly the same areas the group from February did. 

I asked about this in an email and at the meeting in April. I was shot down both times. I will say, though, that I was treated quite differently at the zoo from that point on by various members of the Management Team, and it escalated through the summer reopening and on into my eventual resignation, where it reached a head. I cannot imagine this was a coincidence; however, I do not wish to switch the focus to me, but leave it firmly on these execrable events that should most definitely have resulted in a strong reprimand from the City of Toronto and the Zoo Board, if not outright dismissals for the parties responsible. 

I have copies of the video on various devices in my home, for safekeeping. I uploaded it to YouTube a very long time ago, but have not made it Public or Searchable, for what I hope are obvious reasons. But you should be able to access it through the embedded player here. Please let me know if you cannot.

Thank you for reading.