San Diego Zoo Entrance, 1940s. Photograph Courtesy Zoological Society of San Diego, San Diego Zoo Global.

The San Diego Zoo of my memories no longer exists.

Zoo-ish proposal

I just read Thomas K. Arnold’s article (“Boo for the Zoo,” Cover Stories, December 3). Well, Mr. Arnold, boo for you. The zoo was designed and re-designed for the animals’ self safety and happiness, not for yours.

You mentioned you missed 36 cages of monkeys. I doubt that the monkeys miss them. I think they much prefer their new habitat. You mentioned being able to throw things – just food? – at the gorilla and how much fun that was. Are you kidding? For whom? And I doubt that everything tossed in their enclosure was healthy for them.

I remember seeing the giraffes at the Cincinnati Zoo and at the San Diego Safari Park and it was fun. But I prefer the separation for the safety of the animals. A lot of separation is probably to avoid lawsuits. Remember the innocent mother whose son climbed over the barricade to the gorillas. The gorillas paid a very high price for her carelessness.

I’m excited about the new Children’s Zoo. It was getting a bit outdated and will be a much improved experience. Yes, the zoo should be educational. Every time I go, which is often, I hear a parent say oh, … No, that’s a giraffe, or look a tiger. Nope, a lion. I’m not exaggerating; these are quotes. The complaints about not seeing the animals – you’re not looking. Some are nocturnal, of course, but others have private spots, and all you have to do is spend a few moments looking. I make it a game with our grandchildren. When they find the animal, they earn money to spend on our way out. The people expect them to just sit in plain sight waiting for a zoo guest. The zoo is about animals, Mr. Arnold; it isn’t all about you. Treasure your memories, but maybe you’d find a roadside zoo in Texas more to your liking.

• Jane Lewis
• Laguna Niguel