Plagiarising Winnipeg History - Part 4: Assiniboine Park Zoo

"... to take and use as one’s own (the thoughts, writings, or inventions of another person); to copy (literary work or ideas) improperly or without acknowledgement."
Justice Harrington, Federal Court of Canada (source)

In an online world, the plagiarism of one's work is hard to monitor. It does stand out, though, when it is done on a niche subject in a small community. 

About a decade ago, a Facebook group called Vintage Winnipeg started up and soon became a pain for people who collected and uploaded images. The page would raid photo sites, online archives, blog posts, etc. to take photos and post them as their own without crediting the source. It is a big reason why postcard / glass negative / photo collectors don't share their new finds publicly anymore.

The well of photo sources for Vintage Winnipeg to vacuum up must have dried up as earlier this year the "Vintage Winnipeg Blog" began. Given its penchant for not crediting other people, I thought I would take a look at their posts. Here's what I found.

Part 1 - Influenza in Winnipeg post
Part 2 - Lewis B. Foote post
Part 3 - Jessie Kirk post
Part 4 - Assiniboine Park Zoo post
Part 5: - Winnipeg City Hall
Five more to come !!

Part 4 - Assiniboine Park Zoo

For its Assiniboine Park Zoo post the Vintage Winnipeg Blog pushed the boat out. No original words or thoughts, but it takes hundreds of words from not just one, but TWO online sources to give a bit of variety. They are the Parks Canada backgrounder on Assiniboine Park's history and Wikipedia.

Lots of images in this one, If you want to see where some of them come from, with dates and proper accreditation to the photographers who took them, check out the Winnipeg Tribune Photograph Collection and the Winnipeg Building Index both at U of M Digital Collections. There are likely a few form the U of W's Western Canada Pictorial Index, too.

Here are the comparisons:

Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “With Winnipeg’s aspirations to be the gateway to the Canadian West, the city’s park planning policy, illustrates an innovative approach of parks throughout the city as essential services for the enjoyment and recreational benefit of its citizens.  The Public Parks Act of 1892 arose from the dual concerns to build a city that was attractive for investors while also improving the quality of life in the overcrowded urban core.”

Parks Canada backgrounder on Assiniboine Park: “With Winnipeg’s aspirations to be the gateway to the Canadian West, the city’s park planning policy, from which the park was created, illustrates an innovative approach in Canada for emphasizing a system of parks throughout the city as essential services for the enjoyment and recreational benefit of its citizens. The Public Parks Act of 1892 arose from the dual concerns to build a city that was attractive for investors while also improving the quality of life in the overcrowded urban core…”

Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “The park’s zoo, an original component of the park and the oldest remaining zoo in Canada, recounts the ongoing educational purpose of the park and speaks to the changing relationship between humans and animals. It demonstrates how western societies have organized, experienced and understood the natural world during the 20th century. Originally housed in temporary structures and displaying animals like bears in pits, the zoo reflected widespread beliefs that the role of humans was to observe, catalogue and dominate the natural world. In 1950, the Parks Board established a Zoo Advisory Committee that, in consultation with zoological experts, planned for the reinvention of the zoo as more of an educational space and living museum. Animals were increasingly housed in spaces designed with their wellbeing in mind and which replicated natural habitats. Exhibitions like the Tropical House, opened in 1972, also offered visitors the immersive experience of entering climate-controlled environments shared by the animals.”

Parks Canada backgrounder: “The park’s zoo, an original component of the park and the oldest remaining zoo in Canada, recounts the ongoing educational purpose of the park and speaks to the changing relationship between humans and animals. It demonstrates how western societies have organized, experienced and understood the natural world during the 20th century. Originally housed in temporary structures and displaying animals like bears in pits, the zoo reflected widespread beliefs that the role of humans was to observe, catalogue and dominate the natural world. In 1950, the Parks Board established a Zoo Advisory Committee that, in consultation with zoological experts, planned for the reinvention of the zoo as more of an educational space and living museum. Animals were increasingly housed in spaces designed with their wellbeing in mind and which replicated natural habitats. Exhibitions like the Tropical House, opened in 1972, also offered visitors the immersive experience of entering climate-controlled environments shared by the animals.”

Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “The City of Winnipeg Parks Board purchased some native animals including deer, bison, and elk to start the zoo in 1904. In 1908, the bear enclosure was built, and by 1909, the zoo had 116 animals of 19 species. In 1916, the zoo budget was $8,000. By 1998, the animal collection had increased to include 77 different mammal species (390 animals), 151 different birds (700 specimens), and 14 reptiles (34 specimens), with the total collection including about 1,193 individuals of 271 species, and the zoo budget was approx. $2.5 million. The zoo got its first lion, a female, in 1935, and its first polar bear, a wild orphaned cub named Carmichael, in 1939. Carmichael got a partner in February 1940—a female named Clementine.”

Wikipedia entry for Assiniboine Park Zoo: “The City of Winnipeg Parks Board purchased some native animals including deer, bison, and elk to start the zoo in 1904. In 1908, the bear enclosure was built, and by 1909, the zoo had 116 animals of 19 species.^[1] In 1916, the zoo budget was $8,000 ($1,800 for food, $4,200 for labour, and $1,158 for new construction). By 1998, the animal collection had increased to include 77 different mammal species (390 animals), 151 different birds (700 specimens), and 14 reptiles (34 specimens), with the total collection including about 1,193 individuals of 271 species, and the zoo budget was $2,497,173 ($161,800 for food and supplies, and $1,952,707 for labour).^[1] The zoo got its first lion, a female, in 1935, and its first polar bear, a wild orphaned cub named Carmichael, in 1939. Carmichael got a partner in February 1940—a female named Clementine.^[3]”

Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “The Zoological Society of Manitoba was formed in 1956 to provide the vision and funding for the zoo. In 1957, the zoo helped develop "Aunt Sally's Farm", a children's petting zoo. The petting zoo was named for Sally Warnock, a longtime employee of the Winnipeg Humaine Society. In 1959 the zoo was officially named Assiniboine Park Zoo. In the 1960s, the gibbon/monkey house was built, another orphan polar bear cub arrived at the zoo, and a snow leopard was added to the zoo. The Polar bear enclosure was renovated in 1967, adding an upper story, and two more orphaned cubs arrived. Then in 1968 and 1969, the Tropical House, Native Animal Exhibit, and a new south gate were added. In the 1980s, the Zoological Society of Manitoba, which had not been active for a while, began to provide money for new signage, exhibits, and infrastructure. The main entrance was reconstructed to include a new Gift Store operated by the Society and the Carousel Restaurant was renovated. New enclosures for the camels, yaks, and zebras, as well as the "Camel Oasis" Interpretive Playground, opened in the northwest end of the zoo in 1995.”

Wikipedia entry for Assiniboine Park Zoo: “The Zoological Society of Manitoba was formed in 1956 to provide the vision and funding for the zoo. In 1957, the zoo helped develop "Aunt Sally's Farm", a children's petting zoo, and in 1959 the zoo was officially named Assiniboine Park Zoo.^[1]  In the 1960s, the gibbon/monkey house was built, another orphan polar bear cub arrived at the zoo, and a snow leopard was added to the zoo. The Polar bear enclosure was renovated in 1967, adding an upper story, and two more orphaned cubs arrived. Then in 1968 and 1969, the Tropical House, Native Animal Exhibit, and a new south gate were added.^[1]  In the 1980s, the Zoological Society of Manitoba, which had not been active for a while, began to provide money for new signage, exhibits, and infrastructure. The main entrance was reconstructed to include a new Gift Store operated by the Society of, and the Carousel Restaurant was renovated. New enclosures for the camels, yaks, and zebras, as well as the "Camel Oasis" Interpretive Playground, opened in the northwest end of the zoo in 1995.”

Vintage Winnipeg Post: “This was also the first year for "Lights of the Wild," featuring animal light sculptures presented by the Zoo and the Society for 3 weeks in the winter. In 1997, the "Saturn Playground" was constructed and the main restaurant facilities were renovated. The Saturn Shuttle and Kiosk information booth projects were established in 1998, as well as an upgrade to the electrical infrastructure of the Zoo. In 2001 a grant from the DeFehr foundation funded the renovation of the unused Bison Restaurant Kiosk into the Palliser Interpretive Center, the headquarters for ICE Camp. An alliance with the University of Manitoba Summer Camps initiates "Mini U Zoo," where campers spend one week at the University and one week at the Zoo.”

Wikipedia entry for Assiniboine Park Zoo: “This was also the first year for "Lights of the Wild," featuring animal light sculptures presented by the Zoo and the Society for 3 weeks in the winter. In 1997, the "Saturn Playground" was constructed and the main restaurant facilities were renovated. The Saturn Shuttle and Kiosk information booth projects were established in 1998, as well as an upgrade to the electrical infrastructure of the Zoo. In 2001 a grant from the DeFehr foundation funded the renovation of the unused Bison Restaurant Kiosk into the Palliser Interpretive Center, the headquarters for ICE Camp.[expand acronym] An alliance with the University of Manitoba Summer Camps initiates "Mini U Zoo," where campers spend one week at the University and one week at the Zoo.”