skimblyshanks - Tumblr blog

[skimblyshanks]

Anyway, fuck going viral, never doing this again.

Moving to a new blog where i intend to not go outside my niche.

I will still be on tumblr, and I'll still have access to this blog, so like. if ppl start talking shit i will find out and respond but.

you'll know it's my new account if i follow you or if you're in cats fandom. that's it. i don't like being Seen. I don't like being Known.

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this has been the worst 2 days of anxiety on this site jfc

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TONIGHT. WE’RE DRINKING FROM THE POND.

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“Who is your favorite fearless hero?”

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Alonzo zooming over to Munkustrap's leg for protection/reassurance when the weird lady cat appears...

... then posturing like a big impressive protector for about half a second, before Munkustrap, without even looking at him, makes it clear that only Munkustrap is allowed to hiss at Grizabella, thanks very much.

Poor Alonzo is not sure what to do if he can't do protector stance. 😔

George Maniadis as Alonzo and Alexander Auler as Munkustrap. Vienna revival, 6 May 2022; filmed by @thunderwhenhepurrs.

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Alright folks, important update re. Dallas Zoo.

The Emperor Tamarins are home, and are reacclimating well!

But with this also came confirmation that the Tamarins that were stolen were the Tamarins from the Lacerte Family Children's Zoo, not the Tamarin Treetops as i previously thought.

So that means enclosures in 3/5 of the park have been compromised.

Zoo North, which houses the Clouded Leopards and Langurs.

Wilds of Africa, which is across the grounds from Zoo North and houses the Lappet-Faced Vultures

Lacerte Family Children's Zoo, which houses this pair of tamarins.

The Children's Zoo is linked to Zoo North through a walkway, similar to the way Giants of The Savanna connects to Wilds of Africa.

While there is still a geographic proximity for 3/4 of these incidents, it's less clear cut than initially thought

Dallas Zoo's Update on the Tamarins

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Me, trying to reblog silly little fandom things:

My now-viral post:

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Curious to see what factors makes you more likely to reblog a gifset. If you can please reblog to get more results that would be kind!

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gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss: cetacean edition

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just rewatched robots (2005) for the first time since it came out.

my thoughts:

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Curtain Call: The Rum Tum Tugger (January 28, 2023)

source: Jin Soulholic on Instagram

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Absolutely was not expecting to have a post get 3k notes in a day rjejejjrekrnene

Not complaining; I'm especially glad that it was able to bring the full scope of the situation to people who were only aware of "a leopard escaped," bc I know when ppl don't know any better abt this stuff it seems funny!

But anyway, uh, yeah. I was absolutely not expecting to be one of the posts about this situation 😅

So if you followed me for whatever reason due to the post—it's not my usual stuff. I'm a random assortments + theoretically a CATS the musical fan blog. I am not an active participant in animal welfare discourse, though I do follow it as best I can.

All that to say: I'm glad my post was a helpful resource. It's not at all my usual brand of content. This is a weird enough experience as is, and it's one I frankly don't hope to repeat? Not just because the situation discussed is so awful, but because I? Don't like going mini viral? Fjdjtjejtjrj it spiked my anxiety quite a bit, and that was only minimized by the fact that I have spent the last ~10 hours offline.

The situation has updated, tamarins have been found; I plan to focus on other stuff again now ❤️

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The Tamarins have been found

If there's anyone following the horrific situation at the Dallas Zoo but is maybe confused with the order in which exhibits are being targeted, allow me to explain. Below is a photo of the full map

The zoo is split into 5 sections. There's the main entrance, from which you can go to either The Wilds of Africa, which branches down to Giants of The Savanna, or you can go to Zoo North, which branches down into the Children's Zoo.

It might be worth it to acknowledge as well that Zoo North is the Oldest section of the Zoo, and has undergone renovations in the past few years to better facilitate the animals there.

Every Incident thus far has occurred in Zoo North.

Most incidents thus far have occurred in Zoo North.

EDIT: The markings on this map are incorrect. The Vulture, Pin, was a Lappet Faced Vulture, and was housed not in Wings of Wonder but in the Vulture exhibit in The Wilds of Africa.

The first incident of tampering was in the clouded leopard enclosure. This one made the news, people laughed at the zoo over it, but the escaped leopard was found nearby her habitat and was returned without further incident. I'm not sure many people even realized that the reason she escaped was found to be a hoke cut into her enclosure.

The next day, over in Primate Place, the Langur Enclosure was found to be sabotaged with the same hole cut into it. No langurs escaped.

The third incident ended in the death of an animal. Vultures are kept in the Wings of Wonder area. In the Wilds of Africa, the Lappet-Faced Vulture Pin was found by keepers in a compromised enclosure; the vulture was not dead when it was found, but did ultimately pass away. We don't know details, as this marked the start of an active investigation, but the cause of the vulture's state is assumed to be from human interference.

And now we come to yesterday. 2 Emperor Tamarins were found to be missing. Theft is suspected as they cannot be found within the immediate vicinity of their home. Tamarins have their own Tamarin Treetops exhibit that houses multiple species.

The Clouded Leopard exhibit sits right between Primate Place and Tamarin Treetops. Thus far the biggest outlier in many ways is the Vulture, who was across the Zoo North in Wings of Wonder in the Wilds of Africa.

So there is a pattern to the perpatrators' movement and choices thus far. They've mostly been keeping to Zoo North, and seemingly choosing targets that don't spell certain death for them letting them out, nor for returning the animals should they escape.

I want to reiterate that this is an active investigation; the latest incident occurred yesterday. I am horrified at the situation, and I am so sorry to the keepers and security who are trying to do their job and look after these animals.

That said, I do have some speculation that seems pretty obvious from what information we have.

Whoever is doing this is doing it from the inside. There's been a significant increase in security, police, and cameras around the zoo; it's just nonsensical that ppl with no position inside the zoo would be able to do this.

Frankly, I think this is an attempt first and foremost to ruin Dallas Zoo's reputation. Tbh I feel especially vindicated with that bc the first response of many following Nova's escape was to joke about how stupid a zoo had to be to lose a clouded leopard. But it never got too far beyond that, because Nova was found up a tree nearby, and was retrieved and returned non-violently. Had the Langurs escaped, it could have been trickier than retrieving Nova, but none of them had left through the hole by the time it was discovered. A dead Vulture is a bad look, but I don't think that was the goal. As I mentioned, it was initially found still alive, which I'll get back to in a second.

The newest update is theft. IYDK, it's frozen here. It was frozen Sunday night and all day yesterday, and it's super frozen today. Tamarins don't go far from home even if they were to get out. There is no reason they shouldn't have been found if they were simply escaped. Someone took them to make sure they couldn't be found.

The clouded leopard story didn't end with hatred of the zoo because they were able to return Nova peacefully. The langurs never got to be a story about losing animals. But if the Dallas Zoo hadn't alerted everyone to the theft, imagine how the story of these tamarins could be spun. These ones got out in freezing temperatures, and the zoo was too incompetent to find them.

Which brings me back to the vulture. I think whatever they've done with the tamarins now, they initially tried on the vulture. I think the Vulture was a botched theft that left the bird in a horrific state. I think this because the next criminal action after this animal death wasn't more animal death, but animal theft. Animal death also doesn't track with the initial 2 incidents, which seemed to bank on the animals getting loose and freaking people out. Stolen animals, if not recognized and reported as stolen, would be functionally indistinguishable from a lost animal. If the 2 attempts to cut holes and run didn't go the way the perpetrators wanted, why not steal the animals go be sure. And again, the vulture wasn't found dead, even if it wound up dead.

All this to say, people are targeting the Dallas Zoo, that much is clear. Like I know a lot of people saw the jokes about losing a leopard, but it's actually scary what is happening, and I don't know how it feels to be a keeper rn, trying to do your job but knowing someone or multiple someones you work with are actively putting animals at risk.

EDIT: Adding sources

From the Dallas Zoo's Facebook

Tamarin Announcement

Pin the Vulture Announcement, 2

Nova Announcement, update 1 , 2 , 3

No post was made about the langurs from Dallas Zoo's social media, as none had escaped.

Langur exhibit– Dallas Morning News, ABC News

ABC has also released an article summing everything up thus far.

I have heard conflicting information as to whether or not Pin was found dead, or if he was found dying. Either way, he was found with suspicious wounds, his death is considered unnatural, and as of last week, there is a $10k reward for any information about his death that could lead to an arrest. Most news stories report him being found dead.

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Heads up now that I am muting the Dallas Zoo post. I am absolutely glad people are reblogging it, it's just something I can already see me getting a bit too fixated on. Not that the issue isn't important, but that I know the post isn't formatted perfectly or to everyone's tastes; essentially, I know I'm going to get hung up on details not directly related to the situation it's recounting.

Also, anon, I do see your message, I'm keeping it in mind, and if reports or updates clarify further, then I will share that as well.

It is entirely possible that Pin's death is unrelated to the other 3 incidents in Zoo North. The location and outcome lend to that. But we also simply don't know, and it does seem that all 4 incidents are at least somewhat linked.

There's an un-updated version and an updated version both circulating. Sources and acknowledgement that I may have shared slightly off information about Pin are under the readmore at the end.

Speculation is under a readmore because it is just that—speculation. I don't want to share it uninterrupted alongside actual information.