Confrontations with other visitors

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FBBird said:
Potentially dangerous situation if the giraffe felt threatened/annoyed, and took a swing at them
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Certainly, of course being an animal enthusiast I was more concerned for the giraffe than the person at the time. The barrier isn't very solid so if the giraffe tried to attack the man and his child then it certainly would have ended badly. Fortunately the giraffe didn't try and attack so nobody was hurt. When will zoo visitors learn that barriers are there for their own safety? The general public can be so rude and ignorant sometimes.
 
Andrew Swales said:
I remember when you could picnic in the giraffe 'reserves'at Woburn...
Their guide-book at the time featured families doing so.
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I remember when you could almost walk up to the giraffes at Longleat, with no barrier in between. There were always keepers getting in between giraffes and visitors, to maintain a safe and respectful distance.

Does anyone remember the London Zoo dent in the Giraffe House wall?
 
FBBird said:
I remember when you could almost walk up to the giraffes at Longleat, with no barrier in between. There were always keepers getting in between giraffes and visitors, to maintain a safe and respectful distance.

Does anyone remember the London Zoo dent in the Giraffe House wall?
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I don't know what you mean about the dent in the wall. Was this the result of a giraffe lashing out at a visitor?
 
GiraffeJack10 said:
I don't know what you mean about the dent in the wall. Was this the result of a giraffe lashing out at a visitor?
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For many years, there was a dent in the wall, covered with a protective sheet of clear plastic, with a plaque saying it was where a Giraffe had taken a swing at a keeper. It was a great demonstration of the power in a Giraffe’s neck. This interesting feature was done away with some years ago, in my view mistakenly.
 
FBBird said:
For many years, there was a dent in the wall, covered with a protective sheet of clear plastic, with a plaque saying it was where a Giraffe had taken a swing at a keeper. It was a great demonstration of the power in a Giraffe’s neck. This interesting feature was done away with some years ago, in my view mistakenly.
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Woah! I wonder why the giraffe took a swing at the keeper.
 
GiraffeJack10 said:
I once had a bit of a confrontation with a zoo visitor before. It was at Dudley zoo, one of my 'local' zoos, inside the giraffe house believe it or not. Some of you may have visited but if not I'll explain it to you, inside there is a tall barrier used to contain the giraffes, then there is a smaller barrier to keep visitors away from the giraffes. It was Summer so it was very busy and as I first entered the giraffe house that day I saw a group of small children standing on the other side of the lower barrier, presumably to get closer to the giraffes, but they left a few seconds after I arrived. Later in the day on my second visit to the giraffes I saw a man on the other side of the barrier lifting up a young child towards one of the giraffes, who was eating out of a bucket attached to the tall barrier. At first I just looked in a bit of disbelief at the ignorance of the man but after I said "You shouldn't be over there!" He glanced over at me and continued holding his child towards the giraffe. I tried to just shake if off and ignore it at first but then he decided to reach through the barrier and stroke the giraffe on the head while he was trying to eat. It was obvious that the giraffe felt uncomfortable with the man touching him. Seeing the animal stressed out by the ignorant and selfish behaviour of a zoo visitor really upset me so I said to him "I told you to stop!" He ignored me again, trying not to set a bad example to his child. Luckily the keeper was outside cleaning the paddock so I went outside and to tell them. Being a shy, introverted teenager, I felt nervous talking to tell the keeper because I didn't want to bother them but I did anyway. I said "Excuse me. Someone's on the other side of the fence stroking Kubwa." At first the keeper seemed annoyed as if I was making it up but when I mentioned the giraffe by name she ran out of the paddock and straight into the giraffe house. When I followed I heard her say to the man "As an adult you should know better!" And she told the man to leave.

That's the only time I've ever confronted a visitor. Normally I just mutter under my breath when I hear someone say something untrue about an animal, usually people calling apes, monkeys or telling their children myths about the species as if they were facts, but seeing someone ignoring signs and stressing an animal out in the process really angered me. Sorry for how long this is, I didn't plan on writing so much.
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Good on you for doing something about it.
 
Back in July just after the reopening of zoos and still under the advice of staying 2 metres apart, while I was focusing on the young bear at Wingham, some prat shout "booh!" behind me, coming so close I felt his breath on my neck.
I was genuinely stunned at the stupidity and I could hear his wife/gf giving him grief for it. I didn't even flinch though and kept focussed on the bear, finally turning round as the family walked out of view.
It seemed obvious to me I was his target and really wanted to say something when I saw them queueing at the cafe a little later. It even entered my mind to post a photo of the lout on the Wingham facebook, but I thought better of it.
 
FBBird said:
For many years, there was a dent in the wall, covered with a protective sheet of clear plastic, with a plaque saying it was where a Giraffe had taken a swing at a keeper. It was a great demonstration of the power in a Giraffe’s neck. This interesting feature was done away with some years ago, in my view mistakenly.
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I believe there have been people killed by giraffes before.

I remember reading that some guy out cycling in South Africa was killed when a giraffe kicked him in the head and caved in his skull.

There was also a wildlife film maker killed fairly recently by being hit by the neck of one of these animals too.
 
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Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
I believe there have been people killed by giraffes before.

I remember reading that some guy out cycling in South Africa was killed when a giraffe kicked him in the head and caved in his skull.

There was also a wildlife film maker killed fairly recently by being hit by the neck of one of these animals too.
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Somehow that doesn’t entirely surprise me, an animal if that size is bound to pose a threat, even if considered to be relatively calm.
 
Jude T said:
Somehow that doesn’t entirely surprise me, an animal if that size is bound to pose a threat, even if considered to be relatively calm.
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Yeah I dont really find it suprising either as though they appear to be gentle / docile any animal can inflict damage to a human under the right circumstances.

I watched this old 1960's anthropology documentary once about the San (or "bushmen" as they are known) and their hunter gatherer way of life in the Kalahari and it featured quite an epic giraffe hunt by these peoples.

In the film the San used poison tipped arrows (I think this was derived from the toxins of some root or tuber of a plant, cant really remember) and even when the animal was literally on its last legs they did not approach it for fear of being kicked to death.
 
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Yeah I dont really find it suprising either as though they appear to be gentle / docile any animal can inflict damage to a human under the right circumstances.

I watched this old 1960's anthropology documentary once about the San (or "bushmen" as they are known) in the Kalahari and it featured quite an epic giraffe hunt by these peoples.

In the film the San hunter gatherers used poison tipped arrows (I think this was derived from the toxins of some root or tuber of a plant) and even when the animal was literally on its last legs they did not approach it for fear of being kicked to death.
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Wow, I think its important to have a respect for all species and acknowledge that they could in fact do you damage, recently I was reading about some of the dangers posed by anteaters, which were an animal I always perceived to be very shy and docile, it makes you realise that most animals know your weak spots, and will take advantage of them.
 
Jude T said:
Wow, I think its important to have a respect for all species and acknowledge that they could in fact do you damage, recently I was reading about some of the dangers posed by anteaters, which were an animal I always perceived to be very shy and docile, it makes you realise that most animals know your weak spots, and will take advantage of them.
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Yep, I suppose that like the giraffe the giant anteater isn't really the first animal species that comes to mind when people think of dangerous creatures.

However, it can be very dangerous indeed and there are cases where they kill people here in Brazil and there is a level of human-wildlife conflict with this species in areas where you have urbanization of natural areas.

They have claws like ice picks and they swing these in haymakers and slash with them so they will easily disembowell a human.

If you can stomach seeing this here is a medical journal chronicling a human fatality from an attack by an anteater which has pictures showing the damage caused (pretty gruesome).

https://www.researchgate.net/public...nt_Anteater_Myrmecophaga_tridactyla_in_Brazil
 
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Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Yep, I suppose that like the giraffe the giant anteater isn't really the first animal species that comes to mind when people think of dangerous creatures.

However, it can be very dangerous indeed and there are cases where they kill people here in Brazil and there is a level of human-wildlife conflict with this species in areas where you have urbanization of natural areas.

They have claws like ice picks and they swing these in haymakers and slash with them so they will easily disembowell a human.

If you can stomach seeing this here is a medical journal chronicling a human fatality from an attack by an anteater which has pictures showing the damage caused (pretty gruesome).
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I’m not sure if you’re link/attachment has worked as I can’t see one but I have seen some pictures on Google images, which look to be some pretty painful wounds to say the least. I’m not sure if I’ll look at them the same way on my next zoo visit.
 
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Yep, I suppose that like the giraffe the giant anteater isn't really the first animal species that comes to mind when people think of dangerous creatures.

However, it can be very dangerous indeed and there are cases where they kill people here in Brazil and there is a level of human-wildlife conflict with this species in areas where you have urbanization of natural areas.
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Out of my friends who know little about zoos, the three dangerous animals they’re most surprised to learn are dangerous are chimpanzees, cassowary and tapir.

So much emphasis has been given to gorillas being portrayed as gentle giants over the past few decades (to offset the negative opinion generated by King Kong); as well as orangutans, chimps are often tarred with the same brush.

Tapir only appear to present a danger when it’s a mother protecting their young; but they can still deliver a nasty bite. I met a pair of them up close once and kept a safe distance, with my rucksack shielding my junk. I didn’t entirely trust them. :eek:
 
Jude T said:
I’m not sure if you’re link/attachment has worked as I can’t see one but I have seen some pictures on Google images, which look to be some pretty painful wounds to say the least. I’m not sure if I’ll look at them the same way on my next zoo visit.
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Probably the same pictures, yes , it definitely doesnt match their sort of comical popular image , right ?

There was a keeper killed by an anteater in a zoo in Argentina a while back if I remember correctly.
 
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Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Probably the same pictures, yes , it definitely doesnt match their sort of comical popular image , right ?

There was a keeper killed by an anteater in a zoo in Argentina a while back if I remember correctly.
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Now that you mention it, I’ve been watching a series set at Edinburgh zoo recently and the keeper was very cautious with the anteater I must say.
 
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