Stingray deaths deserve probe

I'm dismayed and angry about the death of 54 stingrays at the Brookfield Zoo.

Senior vice president Bill Ziegler is quoted as saying the "staff is devastated" about this. The animals' deaths should result in more than just an upset staff. An investigation is needed.

How could those deaths happen? Didn't any zoo staffers notice that stingrays were dying, not slowly but 54 during just the afternoon of July 10? Were zoo staff all having a long lunch?

The zoo should fire any and all responsible for the care of those poor dependent animals. The staff employment records should forever include that the stingrays died during their shift.

Where was the public? Didn't any visitors notice that stingrays were dying? Or consider alerting the staff? Furthermore, why does the zoo have "an exhibit that allows visitors to touch and feed the animals"? Did the stingrays die from a so-far unexplained loss of oxygen, as AP reported, or were they poisoned?

Zoo animals depend on 100 percent human caretakers. Clearly, the zoo fell down on the job. Whatever agency licenses zoos should scrutinize Brookfield Zoo's methods of stingray care, and also that of its other charges.

Perhaps it's time to pull the zoo's license, at least long enough to allow an investigation into what really happened. If nothing else, better staff training, emphasizing staying alert about the animals' well-being is needed.

Helen Sierra

Barrington