It is quite harmless of course and just a bit of fun but it also seems rather sad to me that they feel the need to resort to this sort of cheap gimmickry, it loses them credibility as a serious organisation I feel.
I don't get it. Looks to me as all they did was put a check list of all their gorillas in the enclosure. If so, while slightly silly, it is harmless and doesn't require anger, at least to me. If anything, the introduction of the new thing in their enclosure could be enrichment.
I've changed what I said above. 'Anger' isn't quite the emotion I was after, more it just makes me a bit sad.
Now if they had left one of the boxes without a tick, that might have been more fun-'one of our gorillas is missing, presumed escaped'... But that would be irresponsible of course and could result in mass panic as people raced for the exit.
As for enrichment, I'm sure they'd find an enormous bunch of browse more enriching than a blackboard.
I completely disagree, it isn't a gimmick it's turning something the zoo does every year into an engaging story. No unnatural behaviours are being encouraged, no animals are being dressed up or made to perform. I don't get what the people on here have against London Zoo's PR department. Their job is to get postive stories out about the zoo, some nice pictures in the press and to remind people that the zoo is a great option for a day out. They do this very well and I don't know what alternative approach people would reccommend.
I completely disagree, it isn't a gimmick it's turning something the zoo does every year into an engaging story. No unnatural behaviours are being encouraged, no animals are being dressed up or made to perform. I don't get what the people on here have against London Zoo's PR department. Their job is to get postive stories out about the zoo, some nice pictures in the press and to remind people that the zoo is a great option for a day out. They do this very well and I don't know what alternative approach people would reccommend.
I think what you say here is more than reasonable - and the nice pictures in the press today support your point of view.
I think the issue is that this is such a tired story (and a bit of a non story too, with its erroneous suggestion that the count-up is a once-a-year thing).
But that is to criticise the press, and the consumers of that press (us!) rather than the zoo's PR department, who probably recognise that a story about, say, Australian water rats won't get quite the coverage that this hoary old chestnut attracts.
Incidentally - this was good enrichment! Kumbuka appeared to have great fun gradually smashing up the sign(I think the press photographers were rather hoping he would launch it across the moat, but alas....).
It is quite harmless of course and just a bit of fun but it also seems rather sad to me that they feel the need to resort to this sort of cheap gimmickry, it loses them credibility as a serious organisation I feel.
A similar picture was featured in The Age (one of Melbourne's main newspapers) with a short description of the census. It is the perfect story for those brief, yet interesting, stories that newspapers like to fill space with.
I don't get what the people on here have against London Zoo's PR department. Their job is to get postive stories out about the zoo, some nice pictures in the press and to remind people that the zoo is a great option for a day out.
I don't have anything against their PR department. Their brief is no doubt to gain publicity in any way they can get it and in any form deemed acceptable too. I also accept the 'Zoological Society' of 2014 has to be modern and move with the times so stunts like this are to be expected. I am just surprised that this 'story' gets repeated year after year with such monotonous regularity.
Fine if it raises funds, well and good. ZSL have to move with the times I guess. The difference there was the animals aren't used as 'props' as here. I do find the regular photo opportunities(not only at ZSL I add) with staged situations like Gorillas 'opening' birthday presents, looking at photos of new 'lovers' etc vaguely discomfitting as to my mind its giving them human attributes they don't possess, and so removing some of their natural dignity in the process. Obviously, simple shots of keepers counting ants, penguins or meerkats don't bother me in the same way
