Benito the giraffe arrived in Mexico91裸聊视频檚 arid northern border city of Ciudad Juarez just last month, and already the climate appears to be a problem 91裸聊视频� and he91裸聊视频檚 only had to deal with the scorching heat of summer.
The snow and freezing temperatures of winter are still to come, and animal activists are up in arms and pushing a campaign under the hashtag 91裸聊视频淪ave Benito91裸聊视频� seeking to have the animal moved somewhere more hospitable.
On a recent day, the 3-year-old male giraffe could be seen crouching with only its head under a small, circular canopy for shade. The structure did little to protect him from a pelting rain and a hail storm later.
There is also a small shed for winter, but activists say it is cruel for the city-run Central Park to keep the giraffe in a small fenced enclosure, by himself, with only about a half acre to wander and few trees to nibble, in a climate he91裸聊视频檚 not used to.
91裸聊视频淲e have been fighting for a month, a group of animal activists, to demand that he be taken to an animal sanctuary, a zoo, somewhere where there are appropriate facilities and qualified personnel to care for this type of animal,91裸聊视频� said Ana F茅lix, a Ciudad Juarez animal rights activist. 91裸聊视频淲e are in the desert here and the climate here is extreme in winter and in summer.91裸聊视频�
Blue Hills, a sanctuary ranch in Texas that rescues animals and books private tours to help offset the cost, has offered to buy or adopt Benito.
91裸聊视频淲e can offer him a brand new heated barn, so in the winter he doesn91裸聊视频檛 stand in the snow and freeze,91裸聊视频� ranch operator Matt Lieberman wrote in response to The Associated Press. 91裸聊视频淲e have an on-staff vet that cares for our animals and we have 24-hour staff for him.91裸聊视频�
He added that the giraffe would have 320 acres (130 hectares) to roam in. 91裸聊视频淗e doesn91裸聊视频檛 have any trees to browse from91裸聊视频� at the park in Mexico, Lieberman said. 91裸聊视频淗e needs trees to eat from and keep stimulated.91裸聊视频�
Benito appears to have just about finished off the only small trees within his reach at Central Park and can do little more than walk in circles.
Officials at the park reject the criticism, though they acknowledge they can91裸聊视频檛 provide more trees. They say they are working to improve Benito91裸聊视频檚 compound, saying his presence has been important in boosting the park91裸聊视频檚 popularity among visitors, largely children. Monthly visits rose from about 140,000 before Benito arrived to 200,000.
Park visitor Derek Reyes, 11, had mixed feelings about Benito.
91裸聊视频淗e could be fine here,91裸聊视频� Reyes said, 91裸聊视频渂ut it would also be good if they could take him to a place where they belong, with a herd.91裸聊视频�
Park director Rogelio Mu帽oz said authorities are planning to build Benito a new, heated winter house by September.
The park is also building a larger sun canopy for the giraffe and dredging out garbage and fetid water from a pool that takes up much of the enclosure. Benito will have fresh water in a trough.
91裸聊视频淭he conditions, attention and care in the habitat of the park91裸聊视频檚 new resident are optimal for his stay,91裸聊视频� the park wrote in a social media message.
Benito was donated by a zoo in the much more temperate climate of Sinaloa, a state on Mexico91裸聊视频檚 northern Pacific coast. Benito couldn91裸聊视频檛 stay with two other giraffes at the Sinaloa zoo because they were a couple, and the male could become territorial and attack the younger Benito.
The giraffe91裸聊视频檚 arrival was a point of pride for Ciudad Juarez, a tough, dusty city across from El Paso, Texas, that is best known for its hundreds of maquiladora assembly factories and its endemic gang violence. El Paso has giraffes at its zoo, the thinking goes, so why can91裸聊视频檛 Ciudad Juarez?
91裸聊视频淲e want to be like El Paso,91裸聊视频� Mu帽oz said.
Central Park, which also holds a few other animal species like ducks and donkeys, invited kids from across the city to come visit the new giraffe; the government of the border state of Chihuahua sponsored a contest among grade schoolers to name him.
The first prize 91裸聊视频� about $500 91裸聊视频� went to a little girl who proposed the name 91裸聊视频淏enito.91裸聊视频� One critic, Alfredo Casas, commented on Facebook, 91裸聊视频淭hey would have done better spending that money on better shade for the giraffe.91裸聊视频�
The park had a giraffe for 21 years named Modesto. He died last year, and activists say they don91裸聊视频檛 want his experience 91裸聊视频� being alone and sometimes caught in the snow and frost 91裸聊视频� to be repeated for Benito.
91裸聊视频淲hen Modesto died, we thought that was the end of it,91裸聊视频� said F茅lix. 91裸聊视频淏ut then they bring us a new animal, and that really isn91裸聊视频檛 fair. It isn91裸聊视频檛 fair to repeat the story of Modesto.91裸聊视频�
Mu帽oz acknowledged that Modesto91裸聊视频檚 life was far from the best 91裸聊视频� children who used to visit the giraffe would feed him potato chips and snack foods. But park officials have launched a campaign to teach kids to bring Benito only lettuce and carrots.
Mu帽oz said he also doesn91裸聊视频檛 want Benito to live out his life alone.
91裸聊视频淲hen his quarters are fixed up, his house, with heating 91裸聊视频� then we want to bring in a female, because he cannot be alone,91裸聊视频� Mu帽oz said.
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