Do You Pet Animals At Your Local Zoo?

snowleopard

snowleopard

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15+ year member
Premium Member
I visit the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle every few months, but it is a 5 hour round-trip drive into the United States and back to my home in Canada. Other than the typical family farm there are no animals within petting distance at that excellent zoo, and that is how it is at most major zoological parks.

However, the Greater Vancouver Zoo is only 20 minutes from home and my wife and I have been dropping in almost once a week this summer. We get in free due to our Woodland Park membership, and it is nothing special but does have some enormous enclosures for hoofstock. Anyway, most of the paddocks have basic wood and wire fencing, meaning that it is possible to venture up to an animal and pet it as it leans or sits against the fence. There isn't anything to stop visitors from interacting with the hoofstock, and here is a list of 10 mammals that I've personally touched so far in 2009:

Addax
Eland
Guanaco
Black Burro
Dromedary
Wild Boar
Peccary
Miniature Horse
Fallow Deer
Aoudad
 
snowleopard said:
I visit the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle every few months, but it is a 5 hour round-trip drive into the United States and back to my home in Canada. Other than the typical family farm there are no animals within petting distance at that excellent zoo, and that is how it is at most major zoological parks.

However, the Greater Vancouver Zoo is only 20 minutes from home and my wife and I have been dropping in almost once a week this summer. We get in free due to our Woodland Park membership, and it is nothing special but does have some enormous enclosures for hoofstock. Anyway, most of the paddocks have basic wood and wire fencing, meaning that it is possible to venture up to an animal and pet it as it leans or sits against the fence. There isn't anything to stop visitors from interacting with the hoofstock, and here is a list of 10 mammals that I've personally touched so far in 2009:

Addax
Eland
Guanaco
Black Burro
Dromedary
Wild Boar
Peccary
Miniature Horse
Fallow Deer
Aoudad
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So how many fingers do you have left, Mr. Leopard?
 
It's an ongoing mystery...

...to me why so many people automatically assume the first reaction of any animal to human contact is going to be to whip around and bite the human involved ("So how many fingers do you have left," etc.)

It takes energy to be aggressive. A lot of it. Most animals are not going to expend that kind of energy unless you give them a reason. For a great many hoofed critters, and several aquatic ones, a simple, gentle touch is not going to provide sufficient reason, especially if they're already leaning up or rubbing up against a fence.

Although I prefer (in most cases) to be introduced, by a keeper or qualified volunteer, to an animal I'm interested in interacting with, the kind of thing Snowleopard describes comes as no great shock to me, given what I know of the GV Zoo. If he's comfortable taking advantage of the situation, and the animals involved are equally OK with it, I see no problem.

I would also point out the West Coast Game Park (Bandon, Oregon) has free-roaming hoofstock all over the park, including goats, llamas, and various types of deer.

There's no barrier whatsoever between these critters and the public during open hours, and to the best of my knowledge no one has ever gotten hurt on account of said critters.

With that said -- It would probably be better for the animals and visitors alike, in the long run, if GV Zoo did some significant improvements in their fencing, as it sounds like visitor safety could be at risk in a worst-case incident (hoofstock or something more dangerous manages to escape from their enclosure).

Given that zoo's current ... issues ... though, that's not something I see happening any time soon.

Snowleopard, curious: Have any keepers or volunteers spotted you doing this? If so, what was their reaction? (if any).

Happy travels.
 
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Blackduiker

I'm glad you're only petting hoofed stock and no carnivores. And I wouldn't recommended anything in its enclosure. Even some keepers take more liberties than they should. While training in the keepers class at the Los Angeles Zoo back in 1985, a female keeper showed affection to her charges early one morning before opening time; a pair of Timber Wolves, by petting them through the fence. Another keeper I had been working under, relayed to me only moments later that she came to him in shock, displaying a bloody hand; minus two or three fingers.:eek:

No, I don't recommend petting through the exhibit fencing. But there are many Children's Zoos with contact petting areas. I'd stick to those.
 
Although one must always be respectful of the animal, and not take silly risks, many barriers in zoos exist more to protect the animals from idiotic members of the public than to protect the public from the animals.
In European zoos, even today, there seems to be less emphasis on barriers than in the USA and UK. I have enjoyed stroking Klipspringer, Chinese Goral, Cape Buffalo, Warthog and many other species. In all cases the animal was free to move away if it didn't like the attention - but the fact is that quite a lot of animals DO like it. However, I tend not to stroke animals in front of other zoo visitors, who might be tempted to do the same without any knowledge or 'empathy' with the animal.
Touch is a very important sense: I find it hard to believe that a zoo enthusiast would want to go through life without ever feeling the skin of a (live) elephant, a snake's scales, the velvet touch of an okapi's face, or whatever.
Putting your fingers through the wire of a wolf enclosure is, of course, something else entirely and is asking for trouble....
 
I think sometimes it depends on what the animals want, rather than the visitors, when it comes to petting. One of my most memorable experiences was a tapir at the Cotswold Wildlife Park who absolutely loved the attention, and was leaning against the fence letting visitors tickle it's back and chin, which it was soaking in like a big domestic dog.
 
I never touch any animals in front of keepers or even other visitors, and most of the time the situation has arisen from the hoofstock sitting against the rather flimsy fences that can be found at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Touching primates or carnivores would be a major risk, and therefore that is out of the question for me. But if I see an addax or an eland a few inches away I'll pat it on the back and avoid the chewing mouth.:)
 
taun said:
Now thats a sense that would stay with me for life.

Really no one should touch the animals, in case of transfer of disease.
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Ah, but you can wash your hands. :) You probably have the same chances of picking something up from stroking a pet cat or dog as you do from most zoo animals.
 
Elephants at Hagebeck, lemurs everywhere, giraffes at one of the safari parks and zebra, chimps, raccoons, rhesus monkeys and wolves (although I never lost a finger ;)) other times.
By the way, the lemurs jumped onto me out of their own accord, I don't tend to touch animals unless I have permission or they jump on me :)
 
I was encouraged by a keeper to touch both tigers and lions! Trusting his judgement, I did so and I still have all my fingers (although, after an incident with a bread knife yesterday I am lucky to still be in that position!) Personally, I thought it was an amazing experience and would, in the right circumstances, do it again. When walking around a zoo, however, I would only consider touching hoof-stock.
 
Sorry but I don't understand why much people "needs" to pet zoo animals, what "benefit" is achieved with this, touching is like to pet a dog, cat or any other domestic/farm animal to us, and for the animals sometimes can be very stressful, do not think?
 
I dont think anyone should really touch or stroke the animals without permission from keepers or some other authorisation. regardless of wether they are hoofstock or not, I dare say 'normal' zoo visitors may read this and so animal enthusiastssuch as ourselves such set an example. :) If you do have permission it can be an incredible experience and one that can last you a lifetime.
 
It is not encouraged at Copenhagen Zoo and in fact, the only exhibit where it might be possible, at least as far as I can think of, would be the penguine pool. The birds are easily within reach if they stand next to the very low wall that surrounds the exhibit, but I have never seen anybody make an attempt to pet them. And I believe the birds would prefer to stay out of reach.

On the other hand, when the three young elephants that were given as a present from Thailand to Denmark were new at the zoo, they were regularily walked through parts of the zoo and then any visitor who felt like it could pet them. But that practise did not last for long and it must have been stopped some four or five years ago, I believe.

The "present" was a gift between the two "royal" families in the two countries. (Quotation marks because I am totally against the principle of monarchy, but that is of course irrelevant here...:p)
 
foz said:
I dont think anyone should really touch or stroke the animals without permission from keepers or some other authorisation. regardless of wether they are hoofstock or not, I dare say 'normal' zoo visitors may read this and so animal enthusiastssuch as ourselves such set an example. :) If you do have permission it can be an incredible experience and one that can last you a lifetime.
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Completely agree.
 
Oh I agree, too. First and foremost because of the reason mentioned by Taun.

That nonwithstanding, I suppose I would actually love to be able to pet a big predator like a lion or a tiger. But purely for selfish reasons and it is nothing that I can intellectually justify in any way. I would never go near a Thai freak show and I would not stoop to pay the 650 Aussie Dollars for the "Tiger Walk" in Australia.

I might just be a little tempted though, to visit the hand-reared wolves at Kolmården Zoo in Sweden. Perhaps... but I would have to think real hard about it. Apparently this pack greet you with the same enthusiasm as a pack of friendly German Shepherds would do and... again, for purely selfish reasons, I guess I would treasure such a moment until the day I die.

But I would still have some ethical problems about it.

This "exercise" at Kolmården is the only example of this kind that i know of in Sweden. Just thought I ought to mention that.
 
I know what you mean. I can say that I've been bitten by a lion and a jaguar :) They were only small but that's besides the point ;)
 
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