Is it possible to get rid of your zoo interest?

N

Norwegian moose

Well-Known Member
I just wondered whether it is possible that your zoo-interest actually can disepear "over night"? One guy I know said to me "that you need to be carefull not to loose your interest, when you get in your teens all you are interested in is girls, and your interest can disepear, for life". Is this true? And if it is true, have anybody here ever experienced it ? And what to do to get your interest back?
 
I don't think your interests disappear as such NM. but as other things start to get in the way, what i call "life" you may not have as much time to think constantly on what interests you now. Some people make that interest a job which i did with horticulture, others do other things and dip into their hobby as and when they can. I still collect frog spawn each spring and release the frogs back into the pond each summer and have done nearly all my life and over winter butterflies in the fridge in the garage when I find them hibernating ready to release in the spring and I will 53 this year.:eek: I also have other hobbies I some how manage to fit them all in when I feel like it.
It's not something to worry over I'm sure your interest in animals will always be with you, but may be not in the same sense that it is now. The main thing is to enjoy what you are doing what ever it is for as long as you can, and don't try to grow up to fast.:)
 
I would say No. It may become less intense at various stages in one's life but rarely disappears entirely. I've had some periods when I've hardly visited zoos at all but then other (later) phases of more intense or regular zoo visiting.. When I have seen animals in the wild I tend to have been less interested in their Zoo counterparts for a while, but that wears off too.
 
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You should check out Baldur's story here on zoochat, an Icelander who visited many many zoos, but lost his zoo-interest almost completely and now likes the wild ones way more... Maybe somebody can give you a link to that thread, internet here is too slow for that.

But apart from that, peoples interest change all the time, allthough it are often smaller changes within an interest. You may develop a specific interest in e.g. monotremes or exhibit design etc. those changes ( or focussing..) are much more likely than completely losing a certain interest...
 
Just a note on your question if there are people who have lost their intrest in zoos... I hardly believe then that they would notice this threat then :)
 
And would it be so bad?
I have been deeply interested in a succession of things over the years. Each is a pleasure.

If your interest in zoos wanes because your interest in photographing snow goose nests overtook you.... is that a loss?
On the other hand, if your interest in zoos fizzled and you had no interests then your life has become sad and dull and the real issue is your psychological and emotional health rather than your passion for zoos.
 
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I was going to mention Baldur too.

My experience is that when I went into my late teens and went to university I was still interested but less obsessed. There was a lot going on in my life and especially when I was at university I think I wanted to be like everyone else. I was lucky enough to study in Edinburgh but I only went to the zoo a couple of times a year, now I would probably go every week. Then I lived in Oslo and there wasn't a zoo at all.

My interest came back much more strongly in my mid to late twenties and this coincided with a time when I came to be much more accepting of who I am in general and from then on I have felt no need to be like everyone else and enjoy my passionate interests like zoos and the Eurovision Song Contest!
 
For me, the interest in zoos (and NH museums) would never disappear, that's impossible for a zoologist.
As well as it's impossible to see each of species that are in captivity, since each year new ones are being introduced.
 
Norwegian moose said:
I just wondered whether it is possible that your zoo-interest actually can disepear "over night"? One guy I know said to me "that you need to be carefull not to loose your interest, when you get in your teens all you are interested in is girls, and your interest can disepear, for life". Is this true? And if it is true, have anybody here ever experienced it ? And what to do to get your interest back?
Click to expand...

My interest in zoos has never gone away, even during my teen years.
 
I think that interests are a bit like friendships; you never get over the initial attraction and fondness, but you can get disillusioned.
 
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I assume you are young based on the way you worded your question, so I will tell you that over the years your interests will come and go. When they go, they rarely disappear completely, and they often come back - sometimes decades later. As others have said on this thread, that's not necessarily a bad thing because it means you are trying different things.

My interests over the years have included playing music, live sound, comics, photography, zoos, and birding. I went 20 years without playing music and just picked it up again recently. I lost interest in comics in college and sold my entire collection, but now I have more than 10,000 of them filling my study. I spent much of 2011 and 2012 birding then got burned out and have not done it since May of 2013. Most likely I will go back to it at some point, but who knows?

But to your original question, the only way I can imagine that someone would lose complete interest overnight is if someone decided holding animals in captivity was wrong and wanted nothing more to do with zoos. Usually interests fade over time and may resurface later.
 
I am 15 years old and at one point I was also worried that I would lose my interest in zoos. When I was about 12 years old, I started to lose my obsession with zoos, but then my mom bought me a membership to the Toronto Zoo and my interest has never been stronger. What I did to make sure I don't lose my interest again was to become friends with people who accept what I like. At my old school people thought I was weird for liking zoos so I started losing interest to fit in. At the school I'm at now, my best friend loves going to the zoo with me and all of my other friends actually support my interest.
 
No. You can lose interest in certain Zoos, though. It's not like I'm gonna lose sleep and cry over a collection change. It happens and for the better of the Zoo. I love animals and will enjoy them in a captive or wild setting for as long as I live. I was brought to the Zoo at a young age, by my grandmother who goes often and has since she was young. I fell in love once I saw the Bactrian Camels. Even got a plush toy of one in the Gift Shop. Of course I fell in love with all the animals, but the camels stuck out. Maybe it was the humps, no clue. Everything was Camels! Then, we took a trip to the Bronx. My life changed forever once I saw the Reptile House. Lost interest in Hoofstock, and obssessed over Reptiles. Twenty some-odd years later, still all about Reptiles. I do appreciate other animals, but Reptiles are my passion.
 
As post 11 states, you can get disillusioned. This is part of the reason my interest in zoos has waned over the last year. The other part is just burn out. I will address part one in this post and part two in the next post.

Disillusionment is probably inevitable with any human endeavor, not just zoos. However, it seems when I first got interested in zoos around 1990 that it was the dawn of a new era of bigger and better exhibits. Now that era seems to have passed for the most part and zoos are settling for less. I don't necessarily think expensive constructions are necessary or better, some of my all time favorites use a simple enclosing of the existing terrain (San Diego Safari Park, Northwest Trek, Parc Felins). But I do think large exhibits are a must for animal well being and this emphasis seems to have gone away. I was disgusted when a local zoo took a tiger exhibit that was barely adequate and divided it into two smaller exhibits. This is one of many examples. Even the new elephant exhibits being built seem too small for me (I would prefer ten acres as a minimum for elephant pastures). I am also disillusioned with the conservation claims that are greatly exaggerated. The AZA is supposedly the vanguard of conservation initiatives and yet the average that their zoos contribute to conservation is just over two percent of their budget. Imagine any charity (homeless, education, etc) where they told you two percent goes to actual charity work and ninety eight percent goes to operating expenses. That would not be a charity, it would be a scam!
 
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My other reason for losing interest is burnout. I have seen just about any animal I care to see in a zoo (unless some cat I have not seen shows up somewhere accessible). When I produced my book last year on southwest USA zoos, I had spent several years visiting and photographing those zoos. I was so immersed that I finally feel like well now that is done, time to move onto something else in my life. Trying to contact zoo personnel, both for permission to print photos (which one facility refused) and to try to sell books their gift shop, proved inexplicably difficult. This also turned me off, it just seems zoos are filled with incompetent or uncaring staff.

As a photographer I am also finding the photo opportunities less appealing. Currently I am going through my hard drives and deleting tons of animal photos. Of course there are some keepers, but most just show boring backgrounds that scream "zoo" which is not what I want. In general, which may or may not have anything to do with zoos, my photographic interests are leaning more towards architecture, which is why I love visiting Europe. So part of my burnout is a natural progression and part is frustration over the how the industry is run, for lack of a better phrase. I also had a disagreement with a local zoo for which I used to volunteer, forcing my resignation, which I am sure contributed to my feelings, though they are by no means entirely responsible and there are no long term grudges on either my side or theirs.
 
I should note that my favorite facilities now are those that are specialized, run by a passionate individual, are not afraid to exhibit rare species, and contribute greatly to conservation (much more than most larger big name zoos). There are three such facilities that are on the top of my list as my all time favorites, two of which I am on a first name basis with the founders, and all of which I would support without hesitation.

Le Parc Des Felins
Rare Species Conservation Centre
Project Survival Cat Haven
 
So I used to be obsessed with zoos, then I went through a period of time in my pre-teen years, where I did not go to zoos, and then now I go to zoos again.

My interest in zoos became reinvigorated when I heard that Angalifu died. I then joined zoo chat and became much more informed with everything about zoos (I am 15 years old).

My absence from the zoo world did not happen due to any obsession over girls.
 
Arizona Docent said:
As a photographer I am also finding the photo opportunities less appealing. Currently I am going through my hard drives and deleting tons of animal photos. Of course there are some keepers, but most just show boring backgrounds that scream "zoo" which is not what I want.
Click to expand...

Try photographing wildlife in the wild - I think with your skills you'll enjoy the challenge!

:p

Hix
 
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