Hello fellow zooholics

Whats an Ounce

Active Member
Dear all,

You know when you're at the zoo, and along with the animals you see all the happy families having fun their children, or young couples courting or groups of OAPs enjoying a day out...
and then you spot the lonesome figure, camera in hand, staring too intently at the enclosure of some animal you've nearly really heard of and when some small child makes the mistake of looking into the same enclosure and the figure says to the child, "it's right there, underneath that rock" (and points) and the look in the child's eyes is one of conflicting emotions:
1. why is this stranger talking to me? I should run away
2. but I really want to see what it is now
3. aha, what is that? that wasn't in my picture book, mum i need a better picture book!
And then the parent can't quite decide if that was just a nice young man or a creepy animal enthusiast loner.

Well that's me. Hello my name Andrew and I'm sorry for confusing your zoo-going experience.

And I'm not a loner, I just love zoos (and my friends don't) and I prefer to go to zoos by myself because well, most of my friends are past zoo redemption. They no longer appreciate the awesomeness that is the zoological garden. I think I was about 8 when I realised that going to zoos with other people was the pits when we had to leave the Toronto Zoo despite only having seen 1/3 of it, (damn cousins :mad: )

My dad used to joke that when he took me to zoos when I was four, he expected to only be going to zoos for the next three years, not the next seven. Well I'm 23 now and still going to zoos (but not with my dad I'm happy to say).

Until the age of about 17, I was convinced I wanted to be a zoo designer and I spent an innordinate amount of time designing imaginary parks.
I was the kid who almost died when they brought out Zoo Tycoon only to abandon it a month later, complaining that it was too restrictive and that my imagination could do way better.
I even managed to score an internship with German zoo architects Plannungsgruppe Zoo (designers of the new Gelsenkirchen Zoo amongst others) despite speaking no German and having no architecture skills. Score!

The zoo designing has take a toll due to growing up, but the passion still burns within me. I was lucky enough to visit 15 zoos last year (though 5 is more the norm)

Anyway, so I've gone on way too long and freaked everyone out (just like at the zoo :( ...)

Nice to meet you all

Andrew
 
Wow i think ive just met my Canadian twin! You describe me exactly lol, we even share the same name!....creepy [insert suspicious eyes]
 
Welcome to ZooChat. I've been in those situations as well. Just trying to be helpful to others, as I set up my photo shot.
 
Wow i think ive just met my Canadian twin! You describe me exactly lol, we even share the same name!....creepy [insert suspicious eyes]

You know what's even more suspicious? I am actually English, just moved out here 4 months ago. Clearly we can't ever meet or the world would implode [insert God-fearing eyes]
 
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