Strange or unusual memories from zoos

[PAKMan]

I couldn't find a thread that fit a post I wanted to make so I decided to ask everyone; do you have any strange or bizarre memories from your visits to zoos over the years?

Years ago Lincoln Park Zoo had an indoor building that housed large mammals (pygmy hippo, Brazilian tapir, giraffe, white rhino, African elephant), all with outdoor access. But at some point in the late 90s, barricades were put up blocking visitors from continuing to the elephant's indoor exhibit, meaning you had to make a u-turn to leave the building. A short time after that happened, a sign appeared on the outdoor habitat cautioning guests that the elephants may throw dung, and the sign was later modified to say "Elephants may throw objects."

But that's not the weird part. About a year or so before the building closed for renovation, the barricades were taken down. I remember walking through with my family and, for some reason, I turned to look at the wall opposite the elephant enclosure...and I almost fell over. On the wall were probably hundreds of marks where the elephants had thrown their dung. Literally, the wall was covered in it. Suddenly, it became very clear to me a) why the path had been blocked off and b) why that sign was needed. When the building reopened in 2003, the public didn't have access to the indoor elephant enclosure. I suspect this was a major reason why.

 

[Zoofan15]

I couldn't find a thread that fit a post I wanted to make so I decided to ask everyone; do you have any strange or bizarre memories from your visits to zoos over the years?

I remember seeing Mappin Terraces at London Zoo for the first time as a young child and being young enough to be fooled by the illusion that the bears, ungulates and birds were all sharing an exhibit (the intent of the architectural design); but old enough to wonder why the bear showed no inclination to eat the other occupants.

 

[CMP]

When I was quite young, at Brookfield zoo, I remember watching some ants walking on the pavement. I wondered to myself if I stepped on them, would they follow me home to find me and bite me? Thankfully, even at that age I admitted it was perpostuous, but it still goes to show the minds of young children are quite strange.

 

[Sphenisciologist]

I remember seeing indian peafowls wondering around my zoo thinking they escaped. I soon learned that they were allowed to roam around.

Also, when I was very little, I was sitting on my dads shoulders and pet a macaroni penguin swimming when he wasn’t looking. Of course, at the time I did not know that we weren’t allowed to pet them, but luckily no one saw me.

 

[CMP]

I remember seeing indian peafowls wondering around my zoo thinking they escaped. I soon learned that they were allowed to roam around.

Also, when I was very little, I was sitting on my dads shoulders and pet a macaroni penguin swimming when he wasn’t looking. Of course, at the time I did not know that we weren’t allowed to pet them, but luckily no one saw me.

Saint louis zoo's low glass in front of the penguins is certainly too tempting...
I remember my little sister once did the same

 

[lowland anoa]

When I was quite young, at Brookfield zoo, I remember watching some ants walking on the pavement. I wondered to myself if I stepped on them, would they follow me home to find me and bite me? Thankfully, even at that age I admitted it was perpostuous, but it still goes to show the minds of young children are quite strange.

I can confirm that, when I was 3-4 I distinctly remember seeing the Jaguar enclosure at Edinburgh, my young mind was surprised to see in the background, a stairs leading to a open door of what appeared to be simply a office room, this might have not been the case but my young mind definitely played a trick on me

 

[Nix]

When I was little, I went to a small reptile park in Namibia were they had a free roaming monitor lizard, I started panicking and went to tell one of the workers. they started laughing and told me he was free roaming

On another occasion at Joburg Zoo: Me and my family where nearing the end of our visit as we passed by the Chimpanzee Exhibit, I refused to look at them since I was horribly scared of humanoid simians when my sibling wanted to play on the playground right by the viewing window, I decided to gather up my courage and peek through the glass and there it was, a chimpanzee sitting right by the window and playing with a tire. It was too much for me and started screaming and crying. my mother calmed me down and we left the zoo, nowadays i have now problem with other hominidae family members

 

[Sphenisciologist]

I remember seeing indian peafowls wondering around my zoo thinking they escaped. I soon learned that they were allowed to roam around.

Also, when I was very little, I was sitting on my dads shoulders and pet a macaroni penguin swimming when he wasn’t looking. Of course, at the time I did not know that we weren’t allowed to pet them, but luckily no one saw me.

I apologize for the mistake. It a southern rockhopper, not a macaroni.

 

[Emanuel Theodorus]

When I was a kid and went to Taman Safari, I still remember being kinda scared of the giant Orangutan statue in front of the Baby Zoo, which kinda prevents me from going into there for the first few times. The train ride also scares me because of that train went through a tunnel full of dinosaurs, which was dark, loud, and kinda scary to be frank. I soon outgrow those fears though.

 

[Animallover360]

One time at the outdoor tapir exhibit at the Franklin Park Zoo a guy stepped over the barrier into the area of the tapir exhibit to take a picture. The guy didn’t get far because there is a moat.