Animals That Simply Don't Interest You

B

BedildaSue

Well-Known Member
Are there any animals that you would not be excited about seeing at a zoo? I'm not talking entire orders of species, like thinking all birds or insects are boring. I'm also not talking about species that are inherently boring, like certain nocturnal animals when put in diurnal exhibits. I'm talking about single species that everyone else seems to love but when you think about them, you are unimpressed for whatever reason.

I have this odd experience with Barbary macaques. I don't think they're ugly, and I'm sure they're active (never even seen one at a zoo). I am aware that lots of research has been published about them, and that they are interesting creatures. I also would be excited to see any other species of macaque, even ones that look similar. However, for the strangest reason, Barbary macaques just....don't pique my interest. I cannot put my finger on why for the life of me.

Does anyone else experience this with any species?
 
I find Meerkats pretty dull and boring. Asian Small-Clawed Otters and North American River Otters usually don't get a second glance from me either. Often times animals such as hybrid giraffes get only a glimpse as well. For me it's more species I've seen all over the place over and over again so even some more interesting ones like Rodrigues Flying Fox and American Alligator tend to be a bit more on the boring side for me at this point. Ring-Tailed Lemurs, too. Green-Winged and Blue-and-Gold Macaws and even African Penguins for birds as well. Emus, too. The same repeated poison dart frog species as well.

~Thylo:cool:
 
Meerkats! Mainly because of a certain comparison website, and it's subsequent advertisements, plus the animal's over-exposure on many viable documentaries. Seriously, WHAT is left to say about/discover about them?!?!?Resultantly, the species is misunderstood publicly (the former) and over represented zoologically (the former/the latter).

To a lesser extent Humboldt penguins, as there are many penguin species that could/should be better represented in zoological collections.
 
All domestic species (except reindeer, yak and the two big camelids).

7 years ago, I even thought that those animals just take space off. Space, that could be used for "more important" and threatened animals. Now, with having kids, I understand the value of petting goats, sheeps and donkeys. But there is no need to have more then one race/type of it!!!
 
I feel a bit guilty to admit that chimps and gorillas leave me cold. I don't mind watching them for a short while and of course I value them as species and life on this planet, it would be a disaster if they were lost but I just don't get excited about them the way other people do.
 
I think most of us feel like this about one or two types of animal, but I think it's right to feel guilty about it too. I am trying to love all the aquatic salamanders, caecilians and catfishes, although many of them are awfully ugly and one or two are very scary indeed (even if you don't believe all the stories about the candiru :eek:) - but I doubt if anyone can love a hagfish, indeed I'm not even certain that another hagfish can.

Alan
 
jay said:
I feel a bit guilty to admit that chimps and gorillas leave me cold. I don't mind watching them for a short while and of course I value them as species and life on this planet, it would be a disaster if they were lost but I just don't get excited about them the way other people do.
Click to expand...

You are not alone...!
 
Elephants-every zoos keeps and breeds them-so they belong now to the species" I can't see them anymore", altough they are interesting and cool looking animals. Hippos are mostly too boring-no action, just laying in the water all day long.Giant Pandas and Koalas-extremly boring, only "cute looking"animals, like smaller rodents and espeiclaly coatis and merkats. All Apes, exspecially chimps and bonobos, and most Birds-some of them look pretty, but thats it. Domestic animals-its okay to keep them in Farm Zoos, but not in"real"zoos.

I think, thats it.
 
Last edited:
zoomaniac said:
All domestic species (except reindeer, yak and the two big camelids).

7 years ago, I even thought that those animals just take space off. Space, that could be used for "more important" and threatened animals. Now, with having kids, I understand the value of petting goats, sheeps and donkeys. But there is no need to have more then one race/type of it!!!
Click to expand...

I agree with you-so it was the right decision of Knierim, to kill the wild boars at the Tierpark for the"Chacos".Maybe he should do the same with the "common"zebras or african elephants, they are everywhere now( like red river hogs), so zoos could use the space for more important animals...;)Attention:This is not, in parts of the posting,seriously meant, it is pure irony.;) Ps: Why a zoos should keep only threatend species ? in that case, they were almost empty, so many populuar species like hippos or penguins, so many antelopes, primates, cats, bears were gone...:)
 
I'd imagine the answers to this question are as varied as the people who answer it.

There are, certainly, a number of species which I suspect the majority of us would cite due to how very common they are; meerkats, asian short-clawed otters and ring-tailed lemurs for instance. However, the level of variation inherent in the matter can be demonstrated by the fact that despite their near-ubiquity, I actually rather like ring-tailed lemurs and never object to seeing them held in a captive collection.

Conversely, there are species which I suspect a lot of people on here would cite *despite* their being relatively unusual in captive collections - giant panda probably being the most notable of these. The reason for this dislike is more likely to arise from a feeling that taxa such as this divert money, space and time that could be better used elsewhere.

But at the end of the day, the answer is probably a very personal and often contradictory one - I feel no interest whatsoever in chimpanzees, and precious little in gorillas, yet always enjoy seeing either species of orangutan. Equally, lions and tigers do little for me - but I thoroughly enjoy watching the other species of big cat.
 
I think a lot depends on how they are displayed. The most common animals can become a fascinating exhibit if thought is put into how they are presented.

Example, watching a seal swim around in a small pool from above becomes a completely different experience if you have a group of them in a big pool with underwater viewing.
 
Bib Fortuna said:
I agree with you-so it was the right decision of Knierim, to kill the wild boars at the Tierpark for the"Chacos".Maybe he should do the same with the "common"zebras or african elephants, they are everywhere now( like red river hogs), so zoos could use the space for more important animals...;)Attention:This is not, in parts of the posting,seriously meant, it is pure irony.;) Ps: Why a zoos should keep only threatend species ? in that case, they were almost empty, so many populuar species like hippos or penguins, so many antelopes, primates, cats, bears were gone...:)
Click to expand...

Irony or not: It seems that you misunderstood (or did translate incorrect) my post. I was writing that one race of each DOMESTIC species is enough, I was not writing about elephants, boars and co. Also I didn't write zoos should only keep threatened species. What I meant is that the space dozens of domestic animal races need should be used otherwise, e.g. for threatened nondomestic species.
 
I'm interested in any animals as long as they stay calm and not alive so I can get into their inner world... :)
and speaking of zoo animals, most boring are sloths - they do nothing!
 
Just fish really. They so boring. I typically skim all the tanks at an aquarium, and really only pay attention to sharks, rays, turtles and invertebrates.

But at a typical zoo, there is no species that I find universally boring, rather on some days I don't care to look at the elephants, while on others I'll spend 20 minutes watching them. It depends on the day, how active the animal is possibly, how often i see that species, how crowded the viewing area is, etc., etc.
 
I'm going to say Otters. I know you said not entire species or whatever, but I've seen several and none of them have excited me very much. Also, Bornean Organgutan. I'm not much of an ape or monkey person in general, but I do like lemurs, which are primates. Rhinos can be boring, as can be elephants. Basically, unless I'm going to a zoo for the very first time, I generally "ignore" anything other than the cats and lemurs. hahaha. If it's a new-to-me zoo then I'll visit more exhibits, but even then I won't likely tour the entire zoo.
 
I don't think there is any species that doesn't interest me, as vulpes said it is depend as much on the enclosure as anything, but I do wonder why every place with zoo in the title seams to have Red river hogs:confused:
They look OK but I'm sure a rarer species could be shown and the RRH sent to private animal keepers. Again if they happened to be displayed as a mixed exhibit with other African species it may add more interest, difficult to achieve with porcine's I know, but with some discreet electric fencing blurred boundaries etc they may be worth keeping in a collection.

I tend to like smaller species that i could keep my self and dream of how I'd display them.

It's a lottery role over this weekend isn't it Mmm:rolleyes:
 
dean said:
But I do wonder why every place with zoo in the title seams to have Red river hogs:confused:
Click to expand...

The History of this species is interesting. Like other species before and after, Red River Hogs are a victim to an extent of one of the frequent 'popularity waves' that overtake certain species in Zoos. In the 1960's, you might find it hard to believe, but there were only two of these in the whole UK,in seperate zoos (Dudley and Paignton), and later on, none at all, or in Europe either. Then later Duisburg and I think Belfast imported some in the 1980's era as a 'new' species to exhibit, and so they reappeared. Initially being both colourful and comic/bizarre in appearance,they were rather sought after and as they bred freely,they appeared in more and more Zoos which took on the surplus. Overall, the groups in many places holding them got larger too. Eventually they had to start controlling breeding them, in some zoos anyway, but not before Edinburgh received bad publicity for euthanasing a pair of piglets.

I think Visayan Warty pigs, though more endangered, are following the same route and for the same reason, being also free breeders.

The problem with Pigs is they don't make a good mixed exhibit as they plough up and ruin grazing for other species e.g. Colchester's mixed Visayan Pig/ Phillipine Deer exhibit. Cordoning off a section of paddock with electric fencing is an alternative and this is how Newquay display the same two species. They are really adjacent rather than mixed as a result though.
 
Meerkats of course, Otters, Gorillas and Chimpanzees top (if that is the right word) my list.

As Pertinax says, Red River Hogs in the UK are an interesting case. Dudley's specimen remains one of my favourite individual zoo animals, and I still like the species today. I did not see any between the early 1970s and 1998 when I visited Port Lympne and spent all day searching for its pair (?). Eventually I located them at 5 p.m. and got very excited. Visayan Warty Pigs are different for me. I was excited when I first saw the species (at Chester), but now it does little for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top