Many have criticized the practice of caging animals for the entertainment of humans and two Canadian zoo keepers are not helping the situation. According to CBC News, a pair of Calgary Zoo employees received disciplinary action after giving an otter an unauthorized pair of pants. The gesture seemed nice enough, until the poor animal got tangled up in the clothing and drowned.
"This error is simply unacceptable," zoo curator Colleen Baird said in a press release. "Our animal care protocols are among the most stringent in the industry and must be followed. We will be reinforcing our protocols with every member of our animal care staff to prevent an incident like this from ever happening again." The zoo did not reveal what specific actions were taken but both employees were able to keep their jobs.
Even after reinforcing protocols, it’s easy to see something like this reoccurring given their previous indiscretions. Additional incidents include a spider monkey crushed by a hydraulic door, several mule deer killed or injured as handlers tried to wrangle them for veterinary checks, and bats dying after flying into piano wire hung across their cages as part of their exhibit.
Not all accidents involved an animal death, however. In 2009, a gorilla keeper left a knife in the animals' enclosure and one of them decided to hold it like a weapon leading to this startling photo:
Yikes.
