Make an effort to save Fejervary

By Shannon Hintermeister, Davenport | Sunday, July 20, 2008

I always wanted to go check out the little zoo to see what we had locally. I decided to make a day out of Fejervary with my son.

When I got there I was shocked. The ever-so-small attractions are gone, except for the mountain lions that seem to be lacking the spark you see in bigger zoos. The barn seems to be well taken care of, with fans keeping it cool and blowing the bugs away as much as they could. But as I neared the end of the exhibits and even inside the reptile house I began to notice, no one was there, except for the girl taking money at the front gate. I wondered how in the world this place can be held accountable for anything being done when there’s not even a caretaker on the property.

I saw the Barb Ickes column in the July 12 Quad-City Times (“Doing right can be costly”) and tears came across my eyes. There are people in other states trying to raise money to care for our negligence. It’s just upsetting! We should be the ones doing the footwork on this.

The media should bring attention to this and give resources as to what we can do or where we can send money to help this organization. I’m sure if I care people who have lived and grown up with Fejevary Zoo will care as well.

Shannon Hintermeister

Davenport