Worst Behavior By Zoo Patrons That You Have Ever Witnessed

W

wensleydale

Well-Known Member
I thought that this might make for some interesting stories. Alas, the worst behavior I have ever encountered was my own, as a six year old, when I tried to slid down the banister in the tropical house at Roger Williams.

My mother stopped me. :o

I have also encountered tall people blocking the view of the exhibit, loud children who cut you off in tight spaces (heaven forbid you politely tell them to watch were they are going), and parents telling their children that tortoises are turtles and dwarf animals are babies rather than full grown adults (I don't know why but this really bugs me. Such an opportunity to educate the children wasted).

But what have you all experienced? Hopefully you are not all as persnickety as I am.
 
Here are some candidates :

I've seen a woman go into the gift shop, lay a blanket on the floor, and lay down on the floor with her newborn baby.

People tapping and knocking on the glass in the reptile building.

Parents allowing their kids to wreck havoc on the gift shop.
 
I saw a Chinese tourist at Australia Zoo hit the back of an echidna to demonstrate to his children how it would bury itself into the ground when threatened.
 
As a tall person, I'm sorry for having blocked your view. However, please keep in mind that us tall people have been born this way; it's not our fault to be taller than you. Alas, we would like to watch the animals, just like you do, and once in a while, we forget or are impatient to wait until all smaller persons have taken a look and we can only witness the rearend of the animal in question disappearing into its den. Thanks for your consideration.

As for bad behaviour: does taking out the gas cartridge and starting to cook a meal among the terraria in the reptile house count? Or sexual intercourse in the nocturnal house?
 
sooty mangabey said:
This was an episode of The Sopranos, wasn't it?
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I wish it was only that...
And I recall a poor amelanistic python in the background of that scene-ergo reptile house?

@Chli: hard to tell, given the light conditions there...
 
Batto said:
I wish it was only that...
And I recall a poor amelanistic python in the background of that scene-ergo reptile house?

@Chli: hard to tell, given the light conditions there...
Click to expand...
but there's a "night vision" function on many video cameras.....
 
Chlidonias said:
but there's a "night vision" function on many video cameras.....
Click to expand...

M*rde, too late...;)

Another contender for bad behaviour: scratching your initials and that of your fiancee into the glass walls of an exhibit, using your engagement ring. Classy!

Trying to grab a smaller crocodilian in its outdoor exhibit by its tail to prove to your buddies that it is fake, and then not letting go and screaming in panic when it starts to react would be another.

Batting bats to death in a free flight bat aviary isn't nice behaviour, either.
 
Indeed; we all know it is spelled "slide" :p

For your shocking behaviour, wensleydale, I condemn you to spending three hours in the Zoo Leipzig tropical house without a bottle of water!
 
I am going to the zoo next week. I am 6 foot 4 inches tall and I will be wearing my Batman outfit, so in addition to being tall, I can now block off views to the side of me with the wings on my outfit. This is especially effective in aquariums and vivariums were I can view the exhibit without anyone else seeing it.
 
Batto said:
As a tall person, I'm sorry for having blocked your view. However, please keep in mind that us tall people have been born this way; it's not our fault to be taller than you. Alas, we would like to watch the animals, just like you do, and once in a while, we forget or are impatient to wait until all smaller persons have taken a look and we can only witness the rearend of the animal in question disappearing into its den. Thanks for your consideration.

As for bad behaviour: does taking out the gas cartridge and starting to cook a meal among the terraria in the reptile house count? Or sexual intercourse in the nocturnal house?
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Maybe you could stand back a little?

Cooking in the reptile house? Aren't they prone to gasses and things (I am not an expert on reptile keeping)?

If I caught someone messing around in the nocturnal house (two humans, that is) I would probably freak out and call tell the zoo staff to call the police (the prude I am).
 
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Batto said:
M*rde, too late...;)

Another contender for bad behaviour: scratching your initials and that of your fiancee into the glass walls of an exhibit, using your engagement ring. Classy!

Trying to grab a smaller crocodilian in its outdoor exhibit by its tail to prove to your buddies that it is fake, and then not letting go and screaming in panic when it starts to react would be another.

Batting bats to death in a free flight bat aviary isn't nice behaviour, either.
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What idiot grabs a croc? Bear in mind that I am (or was in the past) the type of ninny who ran and tattled every time someone did something like that. How did this end?
 
wensleydale said:
Maybe you could stand back a little?
Click to expand...

So that you can step on my shoes?

Cooking isn't adequate behaviour in any animal house outside of the keepers' kitchen.

Freak out? Hey, you might have been conceived that way. No need to panic; maybe it's even behavioural enrichment for some of the animals...;)

Regarding the crocodilian: we wrenched the poor thing away from the pinhead. And the outdoor exhibit is no more.
 
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Trust me, @BeardsleyZooFan, when I repeat that said witnessed activity occured in a real nocturnal house. And not on TV...
 
I am six foot six and I am a very big zoo and animal nerd. I, too, like to watch and photograph the species I see. My apologies if my ginormo size offends you:p;) I think I shall join Batto and Pootle dressed as Big Bird. Does anyone wanna be Mr. Snuffeupagus?

@Chlidonias, thank you for the laugh!:D

Probably the rudest thing I've experienced is when people yell and scream at the animals. One lady was yelling very loudly at Cincy's baby gorilla when I went. Also, children who push you aside to see the animals. Now that can be excusable as they're often very young, but it's when the parents just let it happen that pisses me off! The worst I've ever experienced that was in Central Park's Tropic Zone. But that's New York so what are you gonna do? Also the general banging on enclosures and the like.

Personally, I find it quite rude when short people try to climb on your shoulders to get a better view;)

~Thylo:cool:
 
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