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German zoo renames monkey, admits "Obama" insensitive
Jul 10, 2009, 15:05 GMT
Dresden, Germany - A German zoo changed the name of one of its monkeys Friday from! 'Obama' to 'Okeke' after a black group warned the original name implied a racial slur.
The newborn mandrill was named Obama this March, in honour, zookeepers said, of US President Barack Obama.
A Dresden Zoo spokesman said the new name took effect Friday and confirmed a report in an English-language website, The Local. Obama visited Dresden last month.
Tahir Della of the Initiative for Black Germans (ISD) was quoted saying, 'Black people continue to be confronted by associations with the animal kingdom and primitivity.'
The zoo said it choses names beginning with the same letter for all newborn animals in any one year. In 2009 that letter was O and a keeper thought 'Obama' would be a positive tribute to the US president.
The Local said the zoo had initially apologized for any upset but had not taken any action over the protest.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
There is a comment about this on
www.obamafu.com
There once was a mandrill Obama.
He was born in the zoo, and his mama
liked this popular name.
All zoo visitors came
to regard him as Real Obama.
He IS real — B.C. and all shots
(not like some reprehensible putz...) —
but 'the public' complained,
citing passions ingrained...
We are busy connecting the dots.
page: 1
SP4: great move, eh?Jul 10th, 2009 - 17:29:46
...oh...god.....
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