News release from zoo:
Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo’s fundraising efforts to create a new habitat for its Amur tigers received a big boost today–Global Tiger Day–with a pledge for $2.5 million from the City of Bridgeport. Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, a longtime Zoo champion, announced the city’s contribution in a press conference in front of the Amur tiger habitat and two of the Zoo’s three Amur tigers. Ken Kochiss represented his sister, Pam Hope (Kochiss) Werth at the event, the Zoo’s first donor for the new habitat. Zoo Director Gregg Dancho, members of the Board of Directors, volunteers, and Zoo guests attended the special ceremony at noon.
After the birth of four extremely endangered Amur tiger cubs in November, 2017, two of which survived, the Zoo began a campaign to create a new, more spacious home for its valuable tigers. Pamela Hope (Kochiss) Werth first stepped forward with a $1 million pledge for a new tiger habitat.
Additional fundraising has been ongoing. The city’s contribution will allow architect’s renderings to be finalized, and a plan for construction to begin, part of the Zoo’s goals for its 100th anniversary in 2022. The Zoo hopes to begin construction in spring 2020.
Chris Barker, Animal Care Specialist for the Amur tigers, welcomed guests and said that the global population of Amur tigers is only about 500 individuals in the wild, emphasizing the need for human intervention and zoos to save the species.
Dancho said, “Pam Kochiss Werth’s pledge to us for a million dollars got the ball rolling to enlarge the tiger habitat, built in the late 1970s. We have a Zoo architect working on phase one of these plans. As we move toward our one hundredth anniversary in 2022, this habitat will be moving forward, too, thanks to the City of Bridgeport’s support.”
Kochiss remarked, “We’re just absolutely thrilled. We’ve been lifelong residents of Bridgeport. We were kids here with fond, fond memories of the Zoo growing up. Pam’s happy to do this, and we’re glad that the mayor and the city of Bridgeport are jumping in and expanding (plans).”
The mayor thanked the Kochiss family for their generosity and announced that the city was pledging two and a half million dollars to the construction of a new habitat. “This is the state’s only Zoo. Come and see it, come and enjoy it! People need to know what a great place this is for young people and, as PT Barnum said, children of all ages to come and enjoy. It’s a great opportunity to share wildlife and nature.”
The Zoo named Mayor Ganim an Official Hero for Tiger Conservation, acknowledging his support for tiger conservation and the family of animals at the Zoo.
Dancho concluded, “Zoos today serve as lifeboats for endangered species, offering both a place of sanctuary and a Species Survival Plan to ensure that the species doesn’t vanish. The City’s support ensures that we can continue our important species saving work, with our focus on animal welfare.”
Global Tiger Day is celebrated worldwide, to highlight the plight of endangered tigers. Amur tigers, once known as Siberian tigers, are very rare. According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) statistics, today’s tigers are thought to occupy less than seven percent of their original range. Threatened by habitat loss and degradation, poaching, tiger-human conflict, and loss of prey, four of nine subspecies have disappeared from the wild just in the past hundred years. The future of the Amur tiger has been a major concern of the world’s zoos for many years.
About Amur tigers
The Amur, or Siberian tiger, is a rare subspecies of tiger, and the largest cat in the world. Adult male tigers can weigh up to 675 pounds, with females weighing up to 350 pounds. Chang is small for a female Amur tiger, weighing 297 pounds. Reka and Zeya weigh approximately 180 pounds each, but they will continue to grow. Similar to people’s fingerprints, no two tigers have the same striped pattern. Amur tigers differ from other tigers with fewer, paler stripes, and a mane that helps to keep them warm. They live in southeast Russia as well as small areas of China and North Korea. They live for 10-15 years in the wild, and up to 22 years in captivity.
I have been away from Bridgeport for several nights in Washington DC to attend the annual conference of Survivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests. Wide range of speakers on the Church scandal well known to many since the Boston Globe put the Boston story on line in 2001-02 and evidence for the terrible violation of the innocence of youth all over the world by some priests, and the story cover-up by the clergy higher ups continues. Trauma and returning to a healthy state was covered in depth by those who were recipients of physical violence with no one to stand up for them. Zero tolerance, whatever that means in a local place, does nothing to deal with consequences that should attain to heinous behavior.
As I return to the City and read the above article, I am struck by how desperate Ganim2 has become:
1. He is a friend of Amur tigers and has a paper award for this. Great. Was this mentioned as any priority of Ganim2 when he ran in 2015 or since? Remember Barnum had a sign that communicated the way to the EGRESS? Is Joe seeing that sign?
2. The Kochiss family is interested in providing for the tigers and have put, according to the article, $1 Million available for a $3.5 Million project if the funds are matched. OIB fails to mention the match. What kind of match? Dollar for dollar? Time table?
3. Lennie, will you outline the Zoo ownership and control for readers? Does the State own the property? Does that include the animals as property or merely land and buildings? What does the State provide annually to operate the Zoo? There is a local non-profit board. Where do they fit in to money, control, etc.?
4. Of the $2.5 Million “pledged” by the City, is it covered in any existing operating budget? If not will it depend on funds borrowed over 20 years (the approximate lifetime of a tiger in captivity) to the citizens of Bridgeport as taxpayers? If not, what magic or smoke and mirrors is proposed…….a gift of the Ganim family and the DTC to city residents? When it comes to finances, it pays to understand the “EXACT” details, doesn’t it? Time will tell.
Time will tell.
Greg Dancho, Shane on you. Feeding the mayor’s PR Campaign in his re-election effort.
It is the taxpayers money and you should be thanking them not him.
And why didn’t he find that $2.5 million when the schools were screaming for additional funding? Not enough fun???
The $2.5 million should be shown as an in-kind contribution in his next quarterly filing.
I will be succinct. The Beardsley Tigers won’t see a penny. This just more Ganim PR BS. It’s really sad that the zoo officials became willing participants in this farce.
I am curious. Did Greg Dancho get a check from the City of Bridgeport for the ,2.5/3 million. Did the Beardsley Zoo deposit these funds?
And how can we find this out???
The $2.5 million for the zoo is in the 2021 capital budget. There is another $3 million in the 2022 capital budget allocated to the zoo. See Bridgeport in the Know Facebook page for the spreadsheet.
I know that its in the capital budget but wow the schools are crying for more funds and they couldn’t get this 2.5Million????…I’m all for the zoo though and truly believe that since it is the only zoo in the state why not lobby the governors office for funds to double the size ??????
In a perfect world Ganim would be fed to the tigers.
lmao
So the city has money? But no money for a tax break?