Being a zoo-goer, what are your greatest fears?
- Thread starter zoogeekmaelstrom
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Not particularly a fear per se, but I hate having to share a smaller facility with school groups. All too often the noise and chaos drives smaller/flightier species into hiding; I've had pictures ruined and had to come back to exhibits to actually get a look at the animal once things quieted down. I appreciate what school tours can do from and education standpoint, but gosh they can be detrimental to a zoo nerd's day at the zoo. And staff for that matter - I've seen loud school groups put keepers in frustrating/difficult situations before because an animal freaked out from all the noise...
Probably not the nefarious people you're meaning, but people who cross barriers really concern me. I've seen a couple close calls, luckily staff were present and intervened before anything happened. The guy who crossed the public barrier to get a better look at the very interested tiger really needed to rethink the idea... At least he was quickly stopped. The public barriers are in place for a reason, doesn't matter if it's for a better look or a better photo, it's disrespectful and unsafe to cross them!
Probably not the nefarious people you're meaning, but people who cross barriers really concern me. I've seen a couple close calls, luckily staff were present and intervened before anything happened. The guy who crossed the public barrier to get a better look at the very interested tiger really needed to rethink the idea... At least he was quickly stopped. The public barriers are in place for a reason, doesn't matter if it's for a better look or a better photo, it's disrespectful and unsafe to cross them!
RodBradley
Member
Awful food. I prefer to help them and buy their meals, but sometimes, I wish I hadn't and a bad lunch can ruin an afternoon.
And from the other end, people hopping barriers can really scare animals like ungulates, especially gazelles, klipspringer, etc. This can easily lead to them running into a fence and breaking their necks; they do it for less. Fences are there to keep both visitors and animals safe! The same with people using flash and lights in nocturnal areas, etc. I suppose my biggest animal-related zoo fear would be seeing an animal die because of a selfish guest.
I've visited zoos as part of a school group a few times, and each time the group was split up into smaller groups specifically to circumvent this problem.
I once saw a visitor jump the fence to a tortoise exhibit and pick up the tortoise.
I was thinking more about acts of theft and vandalism, that unfortunately have become more common (but many were by the same person who was caught)
Note to the general Zoochat population; if @Strix is seen whistling suspiciously in the vicinity of Krefeld or Antwerp, get out the pitchforks
I fear that most zoos will have more or less the same species and that the collections will be very similar
People breaking rules can be just as dangerous, even if it doesn't make the news. During one of those theft incidents, an ungulate got spooked, jumped a fence, and died, but it was never mentioned by media. Vandalism is rare, that's why what happened at Dallas was international news. Jumping fences for photos is a form of vandalism, too, and is just as dangerous to the animals. Using flash/lights can really hurt a nocturnal animal.
That is, sad to say, specifically a US fear.
Out of curiosity, have you ever actually felt unsafe at a zoo due to guns? I can't say I ever have.
Yes. Good for you.
Yeah, as an American, I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been a mass shooting at a zoo here and I do kind of worry about it. Any place can be a target, of course, but if someone is hoping to get a high body count, a zoo on a busy day could be attractive... Particularly since zoos generally don't have a ton of security measures.
Totally agree. I think I'd rather be at a zoo with a big cat or a grizzly bear on the loose than a chimp!
I recently went to Moody Gardens, and the touch pool is now just a viewing pool mostly because too many people can't understand the "touch gently" instructions, but also a surprising amount of people were trying to steal starfish. I'm generally not worried about animal theft from zoos, zoo animal theft is something that's likely to get a lot of media attention, and it would hard to get away with as long as you have the animal. (granted, it depends on the species. Missing monkeys are gonna get more attention than missing starfish) But I do worry about people harming animals while at the zoo. If hurting or harassing zoo animals ever becomes a TikTok trend that's going to be a pain to deal with.
Not sure about that.
Check out this podcast which includes a description of a mass chimp escape at the National Zoo. It all sounds a little comical and nobody was hurt.
S2 Episode 2: Robert Shumaker – Mammal Watching
I visit the US once or twice a year. My feeling is that I always have to be wary about mass shootings or a drive-by or being shot by a cop for no reason. (both these things have happened to random Aussies in the US in recent years). I was being shown around Milwaukee Zoo a few years ago (actually in the Australian House) and as often happens in that situation some random dude wanders up and hearing I'm Australian starts going on about all the dangerous animals in Australian he has seen on some TV show. I said nowhere as dangerous as here, and told him that Aussies visiting the US are advised to watch a video on a government web site on what to do if caught up in a mass shooting. He was shocked. I just don't think Americans really know how crazy things are there with guns, they just accept it as normal.
Probably living in a place where there are no good zoos that are easily accessible? just a thought
It's not that bad, no bias whatsoever