Vic:
The lions come in to the glass area during visiting hours, then they have an area to move around. I care about animals, but it is tough to fly to Africa and go on a safari where they are poached and tortured. There isn't a lot of truly safe "nature reserves" these days.

Go to Como Park and then come back and give your opinion. Kids love the zoo and this is needed for younger families with kids. We have plenty of dirt bike trails and all sorts of things for hipster nylon growler drinkers. How about one thing for the kids of the town to learn about animals and see them?

I've asked the animals and every time I ask them to just tell me they want to go free they ignore me and don't understand or answer. I went to Como tons growing up and never saw what you saw. Maybe the animals just don't like you  and want to throw their crap at you to tell you to go home?

Kids love the zoo. Whenever I go it is packed with kids having a great time. You can make large areas for them to run around and then have enclosures so people see them. They are probably safer in Duluth than in the wild where some gun fanatic will gun them down for a Facebook post. The zookeepers care about the animals and the kids love them.

I get it. I think the loss of freedom for a few animals for the enjoyment and education of the masses is worth it. If they were in the wild they might not survive their first week of life. Then we add in that their habitats are basically gone they would stand little chance out in the wild. So why not have those few select animals, give them an area to live, but also have a viewing opportunity for people? My dog would love to run wild, but it isn't an option as she would be run over by a car or something within days.

I'm being a realist. Yes, it is sad that some animals live in a cage, but most wouldn't survive in the wild as that is gone for the most part. Give them a decent area and let us enjoy them. Theory and practice are two different things. I'd rather see a bear at the zoo than posted dead on facebook, killed by some game hunter in Africa.

I guess we will have to disagree. I see great value in having a zoo here in Duluth. It is a great highlight for my child's life to read about animals in books, see them on the screen, and then be able to see them up close in real life. That is the reality of having a zoo here, but I shouldn't have digressed into the beliefs on dominion over animals.

I pay taxes for so many things in this city that benefit others. When I go to the zoo I see lots of kids bright eyed and interested in the animals there. To see a lion, a bear, and a tiger is a big deal for children. It also peaks their interest in preserving their habitats.  It isn't a tourist draw, but it is something that the local community uses. 

After the flood the zoo has become run down. It needs funding to be something we can be proud of. We have many parks all over the city, but we need a zoo. The people who work there would lose their jobs, and they seem to care for the animals there. 

It is easy to get philosophical and be a keyboard advocate for utopia, but the reality is that a lot of people like the zoo and appreciate having it around.

I'm tired of driving to the Twin Cities for everything. At a certain point you are telling people with kids that this area is meant for granola eating marathon running skiers who dirt bike down trails as they stay here a few years after college. The goal should be to get young families to settle in the area to increase the long term viability of this city.

You don't need a huge zoo, like I said, just some of the main animals. Forget about prairie dogs, squirrels, deer, wolves, and other things I can see out my door. What kids want are lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, and a few others. If you had those animals and a few smaller ones, along with a petting zoo, that is really all you need. We don't need a gigantic zoo like the MN Zoo, which I find kind of lame, and Como has rides and the gardens, which also are not needed. 

I thought the mayor said he is trying to bring people to this area. You need more to entice families than hipster festivals, trails, and a giant college hockey arena. My tax dollars fund so much that benefits a few, but when I go to the zoo I see tons of kids having a great time. Don't take that away as there really isn't much else for kids to do here. If you want families keep the zoo. Spirit Mountain takes more tax money in a year than the zoo probably ever has.  The Aquarium, Amsoil, Wade Stadium, and many other expenses benefit a few, but the zoo benefits local families.

I live in the real world and so my children will understand the world we live in, not one that doesn't exist. I love animals, but I also want my children to be able to see a lion without flying to Africa. I take it you are a vegan as well? Do believe in Jainism or something?

I'd rather teach my children by showing them animals at a zoo than to hunt or kill the animals for sport. I have a moral compass, but I do believe that a few animals can live a life of captivity to educate and expose children to something they would never see in real life. If my kid saw a lion in your Utopic dream they would be eaten. The habitats for those wild animals are almost gone, are you over there taking over governments? Are you fighting to stop people from taking medication made from tigers? Those animals are the ones who are truly suffering.

Utopia is what you want, but what do you do to get us there? Type on a keyboard about abstract beliefs that a minority of humans believe in? 

We are talking about saving our local zoo here. Keeping families here, who I am sure might agree with me, that they are tired of hearing "drive to the Twin Cities" for that. We pay all of these taxes to entice people to come here with websites, hockey arenas, and trails, but what about those of us who have young children? We are paying the same taxes and are supporting the schools and businesses of this city. A zoo is a great thing for a city to have. We need to support the zoo and the jobs it creates.  Those people who work with the animals every day are doing more to better the animals' lives than some anonymous commentor on a local blog.

- If you cannot impart knowledge on your children in the Duluth area without a zoo, or without teaching them that wild animals are their for entertainment, you have truly failed.

I never said the animals were there for their "entertainment" - I said for their education. Do you have children? I would never teach my children animals are there for their entertainment. They are there for food, enjoyment, and to live and share the earth with us. People live in cages, millions here in the U.S., are they there for my entertainment? Are they there for my protection? You live in an argumentative abstract world that does not exist. A "higher than thou" dreamland. Welcome to the real world, unless you are just a troll, which would make any argument moot. 

And if I want my kids to see animals for entertainment I will take them to a circus and see the trapeze kids or the clowns. Maybe see a lion trained to jump through a hoop of fire or something. Before you have a heart attack though let me be honest and say I haven't been to a circus since I was a youngster. Although if someone wants to go - more power to them! 

- Morality is anything but abstract. It is absolute. 

Of course it is. Do you ever talk in real world or just the abstract? I feel like I am talking with Yoda or something. 

The zoo brings families here. It keeps families here. It contributes to our standard of life in this area. Making it into a swampy nature center like Hartley would be dumb. Some guy's field is now a "nature center" with soon to be paved trails around it. Then you have the well-to-dos all living on the edge of that swamp with their expensive houses. Hey kids, lets walk that nature walk again and look at weeds and a few trees! Isn't this fun kids!

Kids want to see animals up close. I did as a kid and went to Como Park many times a year while growing up. As someone who lives here I want to have the zoo stay open so I can have my kids experience the standard of life that I did while growing up. I don't want to drive down to the Twin Cities for another thing. That is why people are moving down there at such a high rate. Even snooty Saint Paul people appreciate a good zoo. We need to support ours here and make it even better! Close the aquarium if necessary,  stop loaning Spirit Mountain a bundle of money for a year, let the dirt trail for biking for a hundred miles get a little more rough. I pay my property taxes and am taxed locally just to eat here in my town as a "tourist".

I support the zoo and want to see it better funded. We pay lots of taxes for tourists to enjoy this city, but the zoo is something for the children of this community. It is something they need so they can learn about the world they live in.

Pennies compared to the 5.5 million budget of Spirit Mountain. I'm fine with a smaller zoo with the main animals that kids want to see for $500K. The Aquarium cost $36 million to build and costs $300K-500K a year.

Someone else might know the other numbers around town, but the zoo isn't that much in comparison. It has a lot of value as well!