It is rather, particularly as its not considered strange by many millions to watch 22 individuals chasing around a pitch after a football. Is it any stranger than that?
Do people understand or disregard your zoo enthusiasm?
- Thread starter Davdhole
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Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
It is rather, particularly as its not considered strange by many millions to watch 22 individuals chasing around a pitch after a football. Is it any stranger than that?
Or apparently avidly watching a bunch of vapid narcissists sitting around in a house b*****ing about eachother and engaged in mundane mindless activities (Big Brother).
Pootle
Well-Known Member
It is rather, particularly as its not considered strange by many millions to watch 22 individuals chasing around a pitch after a football. Is it any stranger than that?
Your right, I enjoy my football and if I go to a pub and sit watching a match on my own with a pint no one looks or comments. Its about peoples views on what is accepted as different/weird or accepted as normal.
I could go into my Sasquatch theories here but won't. PM if interested.
I haven't had many people disregard it, but I also don't meet many people who understand it. It's not so much people saying that zoos are for kids as it is people who just see zoos as all the same. That once you've been to one, you've been to them all, that they're good for an occasional visit but not anything special.
Lately I've been talking to people with a "zoos as a good public space" angle to see if anyone agrees with me, or if I can get some folks to get on board with that. If you're in the US, you're probably aware of conversations about the lack of public spaces, that there are few good places to hang out for free and we're all encouraged to go out and spend money. Zoos are rarely free, but once you get a membership you can go as much as you want for a year and just chill. Zoos are fun, pretty, and generally clean. It's a good hangout place.
Lately I've been talking to people with a "zoos as a good public space" angle to see if anyone agrees with me, or if I can get some folks to get on board with that. If you're in the US, you're probably aware of conversations about the lack of public spaces, that there are few good places to hang out for free and we're all encouraged to go out and spend money. Zoos are rarely free, but once you get a membership you can go as much as you want for a year and just chill. Zoos are fun, pretty, and generally clean. It's a good hangout place.
My family supports me and they let me go to zoos when travelling, they understand my interest. However, I rarely talk about it to my other friends/schoolmates. Not really because I thought they'll laugh at me or tease me, but just no one around me have an interest about animals/zoos, it's not worth talking about.
My relative sometimes do make fun of me of going to zoos, but they're not too bad. It's just "I won't go travelling with you" but not "You're childish and zoos are not for you". I think most of the relatives do respect my choice.
My relative sometimes do make fun of me of going to zoos, but they're not too bad. It's just "I won't go travelling with you" but not "You're childish and zoos are not for you". I think most of the relatives do respect my choice.
When I was a kid, my father took us to the zoo a lot, and my several siblings with kids all did the same, and the adults still enjoy it enough that nobody thinks it's odd that I enjoy it as much as I do even if they don't go to zoos anywhere near as often as I do. Besides, when I'm with them for a zoo visit, I know enough about the animals and zoos and exhibit design and so forth so that I usually can make it even more interesting for them. (In fact, some of my smart a** siblings like to try to find a question that will stump me.) As for friends, I've talked enough of them into going with me for a visit and making it interesting enough for them that they at least have a grudging respect for my choice of hobby. I promise them that, if they go with me, they will never look at zoos the same way again, and I can usually deliver on the promise.
Everyone here in Indonesia pretty much only viewed zoos as a family attraction where you'd bring your kids into it. And that includes my family. So my interest in visiting zoos is certainly intriguing for them. I knew none of my family members are eager enough to go to zoos. That's why the next time I visited a zoo, I would prefer to go there, all alone. And during my trip in Copenhagen, I visited the zoo the whole day COMPLETELY alone. While everyone else is having fun on their own somewhere, I had my most fun seeing many animals (including Tasmanian Devils and the Hippos) and interacting with zookeepers. And I didn't regret it a single bit, even though I missed the science center which I thought was fun, but that zoo became my favorite as of right now.
Having a **** it attitude is so nice when it comes to things like that. I got one a few years ago, I wish I had gotten it sooner.
Thankfully my experience has been largely harmless, people don’t really understand it but aren’t too judgemental. I recently stayed with some relatives in the West Midlands for a week and they were willing to go with me to two separate zoos, as they don’t really have the same interest or enthusiasm but are very willing to facilitate my zoological interests, and are generally very understanding of it (side note, they even enjoy my fact-telling about every detail as it means they don’t have to read the signs, thankfully they would normally read them anyways unlike most zoo visitors). We did WMSP for the first time in a couple of years, which was nice because we used to go all the time whenever I’d visit them, but there was also a two-day dilemma of trying to decide weather we should do Dudley Zoo or Birmingham Aquarium for the sea otters, they didn’t really get it but could see why this dilemma was occurring. In the end we went with Dudley, which they enjoyed because they last went in 1973 and I enjoyed because I finally saw arctic foxes. Sorry for the tangent there but I think you all understand this sort of thing.
People have different interests. One friend of mine is totally wrapped in fishing, which does not interest me at all, others in sport, which I find a waste of time and energy! Those who have little or no interest in wildlife will probably never change their views, or understand those of us who get a buzz out of seeing various animals.