PAULINE'S PICKS: 'St. Petersburg Times' Looks At What's Happening At The Zoo

By: Pauline Millard I'm a sucker for zoos and animals and I'm especially interested in how zoos balance the welfare of the animals with their economic and conservation goals.

Today I came across an interesting project put together by The St. Petersburg Times in Florida. They looked into the goings on at the Lowry Park Zoo, which back in the 1980s was deemed one of the worst zoos in the country. (I don't even want to think what one has to do to earn that title.) The zoo has since evolved into one of the most progressive zoos in the country.

Reporter Thomas French wrote the nine-part series, which is an ambitious print effort in an age of online video. It starts with him on a plane four years earlier flying with 11 elephants out of a game reserve in Swaziland. (It seems that elephants can, in fact, fly.) The projects looks at other topics at the zoo such as tigers trying to mate in captivity and tension with the Lowry Park zookeepers.

There are also audio slideshows that go with the project. I liked the tigers the best.

Even if you're not an animal junkie like I am, there's a lot to learn about the inner workings of zoos and conservation in the project.


Here are some of my past Picks:

'The Detroit News' Looks At Local Foreclosures

'Wash Post' Site Examines Iraq's Impact on Voters

NYTimes.com Finds The Source of NYC Manhole Covers -- In India