I think zoos are taking over my life

Don't get me started on this! I despair of the confidence with which they display their ignorance. I spend a lot of time observing orangutans. including elderly Bulu at Paignton. When she's outside she gets called a monkey, a gorilla, even a gibbon, she's invariably a 'he' ( "he looks like your dad ha ha" - they should be so lucky) so it's quite a shock when a parent tells a child that she's an orangutan. There's a moat round her island with lots of fish, so they exclaim over the fish and always wish they'd brought their fishing rods - of course, the first thing you'd think of taking to a zoo, along with a few traps and a gun! I'll stop there!
 
Yeah, Gigit. The worst i've heard an Orang Utan called was a "ginger gorilla"

I might start a new thread on this;)
 
I was asked why this ignorance bothered me so much - surely it was their problem, not mine? My arguement was that all animals deserve dignity and respect, and if these people can't be bothered to find out what they're looking at, they'll never care enough to help stop abuse and extinction.
 
taun said:
Does anyone else get so annoyed that people dont read the signs and end up lecturing them about the animal their viewing? :p
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Usually I turn a blind eye/deaf ear, especially if the people are noisy/ignorant 'glass bashers'

Just occassionally someone will make a misinformed comment and I'll 'put them right' if I know better... depends if they look like they would appreciate it or not... Usually they're really interested :)

My favourite is with Gorillas- people will always look at the largest gorilla in an enclosure- even if its a female-and say- "ooh, that's the big SILVERBACK (they all know that word), he's the leader see..." Chessington have an old female Kaja who very often 'deputises' in this fashion for the real silverback, Kumba, especially as he's not on show much these days.
 
Hmmh, same at Melbourne. The female gorillas are always called 'he' until Rigo (King Kong) appears. And people think they're all crazy and aggressive and dangerous.

I wish I had $1 for every time people ran up to the "hyeanas" (aka cape hunting dogs). I wish I had $2 for every "bum" comment at the baboons and every "isn't he lonely? he looks like he needs a cuddle" at the tiger......sure, go ahead give him a 'cuddle'.

There's no excuse with the amount of information on television/cable/TV and everywhere else.
 
My pet hate would be the bloke (always a bloke) who goes up to the glass at the gorillas and if there is a gorilla sitting by the glass the bloke starts 'monkeying' around (you know jumping up and down, scratching under their arms etc) and if the gorilla refuses to look, the bloke then starts banging on the glass. All his mates egg him on. What I do like is when the gorilla gives the bloke a disdainful look and saunters away slowly as if to say ' a bunch of nutters there.'
 
taun said:
Does anyone else get so annoyed that people dont read the signs and end up lecturing them about the animal their viewing? :p
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I do. Singapore recently spent heaps of money and effort to replace all the animal signs at Night Safari. They're back-lit, and come with descriptions and audio in 4 languages.

Annoying kids treat the audio buttons like keyboards and start abusing them. Ignorant adults don't bother looking at the signs either, even when they're right in front of them. I've lost count of the number of times i've heard people calling the striped hyena "wolves" or wild dogs. :rolleyes:
 
I am really interested in why people are so obsessed with zoos. I don't think its that unusual, only that alot of people go as kids, then lapse for a few years, and then have their own children, and it kind of becomes acceptable to them to go to visit animal collections now they can do it for the benefit of their children. I have relatives and friends who have started doing this and they seem to initiate it/ look forward to it as much if not more than their kids.
If you are fascinated by other life forms then a zoological collection really is the connection between wildlife and human society, so it is normal for those interested in wild animals to be interested in the places where they can be seen.
And consequently if you have visited collections in your region many times, you are likely to feel slightly proprietorial over their development, which again I think is a healthy passion. Even when privately owned, they are part of the community and the more involvement peope have in their local animal collections the better.
Do people care more about zoos than conservation in general? I'd be surprised if that was true, from what people say on these forums.
 
The best day of the week to visit your favourite zoo is Saturday.(Less crowded.)

Sunday is family day - fair enough.

Monday to Friday the zoo is full of running, screaming schoolkids (bah; humbug!) Most of them are not particularly interested; just glad to be out of school.

If you MUST go on a weekday, go either early or late. (The trouble is, most don't open to the public until about 9a.m. I'd love to be there about dawn. How's that for unrealistic!)
 
Ara said:
If you MUST go on a weekday, go either early or late. (The trouble is, most don't open to the public until about 9a.m. I'd love to be there about dawn. How's that for unrealistic!)
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Taronga is beautiful at dawn. its quite and with the sun coming up and the light across the city its quite spectacular. The animals are also pretty special at dawn as most of them are still half asleep but seem to know that heaps of popel are about to come into the zoo so move around heaps and enjoy the few hours left of privacy. the only bad bit is that in winter its bloddy cold!
 
it carnt be better than dubbo, walking in the huge african safari like gates, like actually entering a game reserve, then walking top the islands, with the sun up over the water, with the mist of the fountains on ya face! The smells come to you, better than heaven!
 
Zoo_Boy said:
it carnt be better than dubbo, walking in the huge african safari like gates, like actually entering a game reserve, then walking top the islands, with the sun up over the water, with the mist of the fountains on ya face! The smells come to you, better than heaven!
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now that does sound pretty amazing... but neither of them are as good as actually waking up in africa:p
 
I figure that 98% of the contributors to this forum are people who harbour a secret dream that they'll suddenly become very rich and will be able to found a brilliantly successful private zoo/ wildlife breeding centre. (Am I right?)

The remaining 2% are the few weary realists like ZooPro who regularly takes on the rather thankless task of gently bringing the rest of us back to reality.

No harm in dreaming, people, but it ain't going to happen! Far better to get behind your local zoo and help out any way you can.
 
I visit the zoo AT LEAST 3 times a week. The zoo also has a huge playground for kids. Especially useful during holidays when parents take them there as an easy cop out and after an hour or so they've had enough of the animals. Always amazes me that the farm animals are still such huge favourites with the kids. Especially goats!
 
Lukeness said:
I visit the zoo AT LEAST 3 times a week. The zoo also has a huge playground for kids. Especially useful during holidays when parents take them there as an easy cop out and after an hour or so they've had enough of the animals. Always amazes me that the farm animals are still such huge favourites with the kids. Especially goats!
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Petting zoos are always very actractive to kids. Most zoos do have such a petting zoo, and most cities too (in The Netherlands at least).

I spend a lot of time in zoos but I never feel bored. I often go to my favorite zoo Emmen to sit down near the elephants and watch them. Emmen has 15 elephants at the moment and you can imagine how wonderful this herd can be.
 
patrick said:
a) whenever you catch yourself daydreaming about winning tattslotto and building a zoo, switch to something else.
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Playing Zoo Tycoon 2 I find a good release for all that ‘lack of funds’, pent up frustration...

patrick said:
b) learn to visit the zoo by yourself. as someone with a morbid fear of doing public activities alone
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I’ve never had a problem with doing things on my own; I used to have a tradition when I was in my late teens of driving out to the quietest cinema in Auckland and catching the first screening on new movies on Sunday morning, more often than not I’d have the cinema to myself (makes you feel like a millionaire), my mates however thought I was a nutter... This has carried over to zoo visitation, apart from when I go to the zoo with my missus, 90% of my zoo travels have been on my own... Like with the cinema other zoo patrons think you are mad if you’re an adult and by yourself, Patrick suggested a camera (that only works if it looks expensive enough), a drawing pad may be good till they see the stick figure you’ve drawn on the page... But what really works is wearing a backpack and fanny pack, everyone (except for the staff who recognise you) thinks you’re just a backpacker with a spare day...
 
I have this thing that if i am going somewhere it is only worthwhile if their is a zoo nearby. I am too young to drive myself and therefore depend on my parents who have to share the interests of 5 completely different kids. It's krusty demons one weekend, something else this weekend and when it's my turn to choose it is always either mansfield or Kyabram.
Going to the zoo alone can be overcome if you pretend you're looking for a kid the whole time. The same way that you can go into toyshops and say just loud enogh that people will hear "Do you think james would like this one or this one." Only problem is that it looks like you're talking to yourself.
 
Going to zoos by oneself is an awesome thing to do, as you can go at your own pace, linger at the exhibits that you enjoy the most, and usually take far longer than if you were to escort someone else. I'm fortunate that my wife really enjoys zoos as well, but she's not a fan of reptiles or amphibians and so I'm always a little rushed through those sections of zoos.
 
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