Is it possible to get rid of your zoo interest?

You can lose interest and you can get it back again.

As a young child I was obsessed with zoos and animals. Whenever I had a birthday I always wanted to go to one of the local zoos. Whenever we went on holiday I wanted to know what zoos were around the area. When I reached my early teens my interest didn't wain but my parents were no longer as willing to take me. They viewed zoos as a place you took younger children. After one visit when I was 15 they refused to take me again (I lived in a rural area so I couldn't get there by public transport).

Over the next year or so I took more of an interest in normal teenage activities and no longer had a desire to visit zoos. This continued through my late teens into my early twenties. During this time I moved away first to go to university and then I got a job in a different part of the country.

In my mid 20s I had a week off work decided to spend some time visiting local attractions in the area I now lived in, one of these was the local zoo. That rekindled my interest and I have been regularly visiting zoos again since. I am now 37.
 
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. 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.
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I still take photos at zoos, but it's not too exciting. For the most part, there's not a whole lot of challenge in taking photos at the zoo. I can picture myself getting bored with that at some point.

Though I doubt I'll get bored with zoos any time soon. My recent aggressive interest in guys hasn't caused my zoo interest to wane. I don't have a lot of money, I don't have a lot I can do, my life is boring, but no matter where I am, a zoo is usually there to give me something to do.
 
You shouldn't worry about losing your interest because if you do lose interest it won't matter, you won't care, you'll do something else.

Unless you are disillusioned though, I think it would lay there dormant and possibly become reignited at some time in the future when circumstances are right. It's a bit like the fire triangle - spare time being the oxygen, access to a zoo and discussion groups like this being the fuel and with heat added by a complimentary obsession such as photography!
 
One reason I've become more of a birdwatcher than a zoo goer is that nature is always changing and there are always new places to see and new birds to chase. At a zoo, there is a finite quantity.
 
For a period of about three years between 2011 and 2014 I became less interested in zoos apart from visiting one or two specialist collections such as Birdland, various WWT places and breeding centres with native wildlife when I went to the UK and Australia.
This is largely because I lived in Saudi Arabia where there are very few zoos and those that there are were pretty awful. I also became more interested in seeing wildlife and Birding because I had the opportunity to visit South Africa and Ethiopia, and Australia and Asia several times. I also got lots of pets and that partially satisfied my need to visit zoos.

Then when I moved to Poland where I am surrounded by a wealth of brilliant collections, I returned to obsessively visiting as many zoos as I could.

I never lost my interest in animals in general however and I doubt anyone who is nutty enough to spend their time discussing zoos and animals on a forum such as this will ever wake up one day and lose all their interest in animals, zoos, wildlife and conservation.
 
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jbnbsn99 said:
One reason I've become more of a birdwatcher than a zoo goer is that nature is always changing and there are always new places to see and new birds to chase. At a zoo, there is a finite quantity.
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I've gotten more into bird watching lately. Mostly cause I need something to do, but birds are always interesting. South Texas is great for bird watching. I even set up a Flickr that's mostly bird pictures. (though I try to get other stuff when I can. I'm gonna try and get my sister to take me on a dolphin watch tomorrow) I do enjoy the zoo and I don't think I'll ever get tired of it, but I prefer the chance of seeing an animal in the wild than the (usual) guarantee of the zoo. It's more exciting, plus, you're more likely to see something unique or cool out in the wild.
 
There has been a lot of discussion on Zoochat lately about losing interest in Zoos etc. My dad died on Jun 2nd. Anyone who has talked to me on here knows he has been disabled and bad sick for a long time. My Dad was the one who encouraged my love of animals and took me to every zoo in the Southeast. My Dad was my best friend. Today being the 4th of July it was the first major holiday without him. That combined with a raining day had me feeling a little down. My mom's 1st cousin had her mom (my great aunt) in our area today. She invited us to the Tennessee Aquarium on a day trip today. It is only about an hour from my house here in Northeast Alabama. Perfect thing to do on a rainy day, plus she is a kindred spirit in being an animal lover.

Anyway as I spent time today in the Aquarium obviously I enjoyed myself. It wasn't my first visit but my first since the new building was completed. Such a great aquarium. But the animals today were weirdly secondary. I found myself watching the families. Families of all types. All races, orientations, and combinations were seen just enjoying time with their familes. And they were all enjoying the 4th in peace. I am not ashamed to say I believe in God. I firmly believe he knew I needed what I did today. Going to the aquarium today wasn't just a fun holiday, it was good for my soul. It was good for my peace of mind.

So if you have your parent or your child close, hug them. Have a happy fourth.
 
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I'm very sorry to hear about your loss, tschandler. I'm glad you're finding some comfort in zoos and aquaria.
 
I lost both of my parents about 2 years ago. Returning to the zoo you visited as a child with your parents, now with your sons and or duaghters can be special way to keep family memories and traditions alive. To those of us who love zoos, they become places where family,memories and nature are all woven together. I am already looking forward to the day i will be a proud grandparent thaking his grandchildren to the zoo.
Lo siento mucho, tschandler.
 
I find mydelf echoing the comments of jbns99. It is so much easier to find joy in seeing signs of progress in a good, well-run RSPB reserve than it is at many large UK zoos, where frequently one feels that the gift shop is the most important site as far as the director is concerned.
 
I would have to agree with Arizona Docent. Disillusionment is something I've experienced greatly with zoos. Zoos have an incredible potential to educate about animal welfare, conservation, and environmentalism, and yet, they hardly ever take advantage of that position.

Instead, they continue to criticize people living in poverty for hunting for bushmeat or ivory. They make a big stink about rescuing animals from oil spills, yet they themselves rely on fossil fuels to power their facilities. They tell the public that recycling will single-handedly save the environment. In other words, they are too insecure to challenge the beliefs that their visitors may have or encourage them to change any aspect of their lives. Consequently, they dramatically lessen their ability to educate or conserve. And that is tragic.

There are a few zoos which seem to be bold enough to challenge that norm, however: Oakland Zoo, which campaigned against the use of ankuses and encouraged the passage of Senate Bill 716; The Wildlife Conservation Society, which recently attacked the use of plastic microbeads; The Detroit Zoo, first to voluntarily send its elephants to a sanctuary.

However, these select facilities are certainly the exception to the rule. Until zoos begin to confront environmental, conservation, and animal welfare issues at home, I struggle to think of them as responsible institutions. After all, why boast that a zoo is compassionate about animal welfare if they are perfectly willing to support factory farming to feed their carnivores and their visitors? Why claim to combat climate change if a zoo contributes to it? Why bother inspiring people to save animals, species and the environment if you don't tell them how to?
 
I am reviving an old thread (though if I remember correctly there was an even older thread on this topic). I stated earlier in this thread that I was starting to lose interest in zoos and that has only increased in the ensuing years. It is for the same reasons that I stated already. One frustration (if I can generalize) is that zoos seem increasingly focused on being event centers, hosting concerts and winter lights and the like. The crowds and noise associated with this seem counterproductive to my vision of a zoo as a reflection of nature, that is a quiet peaceful retreat. I can't help but wonder how all those crowds and sounds affect the animals. I now am only interested in photographing nature (and architecture) and have been fortunate over the last year to find a spot where wild bobcats are readily seen. I did visit four new zoological facilities last fall in Virginia and North Carolina, primarily to see king cheetahs at one of them. Even then I did not enjoy it as much as I used to (one zoo was really bad and the only positive was that I met a new ZooChatter there). I appreciate the friendships I have developed here but due to my lack of interest in the main subject of this forum I will likely be participating much less in ZooChat.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I am reviving an old thread (though if I remember correctly there was an even older thread on this topic). I stated earlier in this thread that I was starting to lose interest in zoos and that has only increased in the ensuing years. It is for the same reasons that I stated already. One frustration (if I can generalize) is that zoos seem increasingly focused on being event centers, hosting concerts and winter lights and the like. The crowds and noise associated with this seem counterproductive to my vision of a zoo as a reflection of nature, that is a quiet peaceful retreat. I can't help but wonder how all those crowds and sounds affect the animals. I now am only interested in photographing nature (and architecture) and have been fortunate over the last year to find a spot where wild bobcats are readily seen. I did visit four new zoological facilities last fall in Virginia and North Carolina, primarily to see king cheetahs at one of them. Even then I did not enjoy it as much as I used to (one zoo was really bad and the only positive was that I met a new ZooChatter there). I appreciate the friendships I have developed here but due to my lack of interest in the main subject of this forum I will likely be participating much less in ZooChat.
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I certainly hope you don’t leave permanently. I will say that I find all of the events such as holiday celebrations at zoos rather unnecessary.
 
For maybe four or five years my zoo-goings became very infrequent. As a young child I'd love going to my closest zoo but as I reached maybe 9 or 10 years old, I stopped going as frequently. To be honest I think this was due to my brother not having an interest and for 2 years I visited no zoos whatsoever but me and my grandfather made up for this by going on bird watching trips, oh how I wish I had started photographing what I saw. :oops:

In July 2020, I visited Chester Zoo with my first proper camera and hadn't visited since 2016 or maybe even earlier. At the start of 2021 I started making a species life-list with all species I have photographed. I'm currently on 649 animal species/sub species. Now my zoo-goings are much more frequent with my mother asking me if there are zoos/aquariums/nature reserves near places we go to on holiday. My brother doesn't seem to bothered as he once was and we managed to keep him entertained visiting Folly Farm with only a slinky. :D
 
I feel like my zoos interest have been declining.

Basically since my first visit to Chimelong safari park when I was 3, I have basically been to Shenzhen or Chimelong safari park every year. After 2015 my zoo interest increases, and with me joining Zoochat in 2016, I have been to at least one foreign zoo every year, with 2018 and 2019 having 10 foreign zoos for both year. Travelling at least once a year seems like a must and a granted.
However, with covid 19 starting from 2020, my only zoos option have been HKZBG, Ocean Park and EYA. But those are small facilities which almost never get changed, so it become boring. Turns out Hong Kong is probably the worst city out there for a zoochatter to live in. (Unless you're counting some island nations) Without any good zoos to cheer me up and to visit, I feel like at times I'm frustrated and even getting desperate.
I still like zoos but I feel like with even more time I might not enjoy zoos as I used to, even if foreign travel are resumed.
 
I've always loved zoos since I was 3 or something like that. I've never losed my interest about zoos and animals, but people can definitely get rid of it, like me with some other interests.
 
It's actually really strange how I can somewhat relate to @Arizona Docent and others who have posted on this thread, because I of course am still really engaged in like 3 or 4 zoos that I have a reasonable interest in, 3 of those are all just in my home state.

I have lost I would say around 80% of my interest in zoos since 4 or 5 years ago, and thats just the way the ball bounces.

I have NOT and will NEVER lose my interest in Animals though, and Animals in the wild are more enlightening to see than animals at a zoo.

In fact I would say my interest of animals in the wild has only gotten larger and strengthened since Zoo interest as waned.
And my Wildlife Ecology career is still getting closer and closer towards becoming a reality as I learn more, study more, and engage in the natural world more.

However an exception to this would be like me trying to (unsuccessfully) plan a trip to Monterey bay this April, as a way to see Deep-Sea animals, the best kinds of animals in my opinion.
This was only to see them since seeing any in the wild would be less than a 0.5% chance with how my life's planned out, it would take just pure luck to ever make that happen.
Sort of like Arizona Docent and the King cheetah mentioned earlier.
 
Some young Zoo chatters become the legendary 'Kevin the teenager' (google it if you need), suddenly the child has gone, the fun has gone and the rebel of hatred is within :)
You don't need to stop contributing here if you don't go to zoos, its a people forum about zoos, the people first I believe.
I found ZC over a decade ago searching for info on white rhinos in the UK.
I have loved zoos since I was about 5 years old, 40 years ago now! (that hit me!). Just enjoy a hobby and don't try too hard, otherwise burn out occurs. 90% of young zoo chatters seem (to me) to come and go within 18 months give or take.
Maybe the pandemic has affected you more than you realise?
 
Arizona Docent said:
One frustration (if I can generalize) is that zoos seem increasingly focused on being event centers, hosting concerts and winter lights and the like. The crowds and noise associated with this seem counterproductive to my vision of a zoo as a reflection of nature, that is a quiet peaceful retreat.
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I can relate to this. And the more you know, the more disillusioned you get.
 
Pootle said:
Some young Zoo chatters become the legendary 'Kevin the teenager' (google it if you need), suddenly the child has gone, the fun has gone and the rebel of hatred is within :)
You don't need to stop contributing here if you don't go to zoos, its a people forum about zoos, the people first I believe.
I found ZC over a decade ago searching for info on white rhinos in the UK.
I have loved zoos since I was about 5 years old, 40 years ago now! (that hit me!). Just enjoy a hobby and don't try too hard, otherwise burn out occurs. 90% of young zoo chatters seem (to me) to come and go within 18 months give or take.
Maybe the pandemic has affected you more than you realise?
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I'm still very much contributing to ZC.
 
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