Terrible loss - National Zoo Invertebrate Exhibit closing

Help! The Smithsonian National Zoo's Invertebrate House is closing!
This is the SMITHSONIAN, for crying out loud.

What can we do, ceph nerds?

I am mighty upset about this, seeing as this is my (and others) main source of free federally-funded cephalopoddin' and seeing as the zoo apparently gives far too much of a crud about vertebrate babies.

Fundraiser? Whining to Congress? Protest?
 
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Meanwhile, the National Zoo is shunting its funds into a ton of new furry mammal babies (euuuuuugh), a new elephant exhibit, and just built a new exhibit for its sea lions and American critters. Shows you where their priorities are.
 
It looks like it is not very cephs as it is. The success of the Monterey Tentacles exhibit should suggest that ocean exhibits are gaining, not losing, popularity with cephs being pretty high on the interest scale. Zoos/aquariums (IMO) show the public things they can't see elsewhere OR should have a local theme to educate the public about what we need to protect. It seems the Smithsonian has long lost a focus.
 
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It wasn't just cephy, Denise; there were corals at the entrance, a beautiful reef tank, lobsters and crabs, cool insects and arachnids, and all sorts of other animals.
 
Yes, I remember and my point was only that it had already lost most of its cephalopods (according to the write-up). I don't remember seeing any cuttlefish but they did have a really nice nautilus display and the GPO.

To me it looks more and more like Washington is trying to avoid ocean issues and education when we need it the most. Lions and elephants need saving but the ocean is our backyard.
 
Acquisitions have always been tough at the National Zoo, but silence was the response for many of the recent requests from what I understand. Acquisitions there require I believe 5 signatures - the requestor, their immediate curator, the general curator, the zoo veterinarian, and the director or something along those lines. This brings 3 people into the chain that could have very little knowledge about the specific request and who could ignore the request and bog down the acquisition. The loss of their Cephalopods was typical based on their lifespans but the fact that here was no replacement - even free ones from other zoos and aquariums - is telling of what the plans were.
 

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