Yes, in attempt to restrain the interesting creature that is the general public; indeed the creature that crosses fences most often in zoos!
Things people do that irritate you when you go to the zoo? #2
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Yes, in attempt to restrain the interesting creature that is the general public; indeed the creature that crosses fences most often in zoos!
Went to the Smithsonian National Zoo a couple of weeks ago and encountered a teen complaining to his parents that the zoo had no visible animals. "I thought we came to the zoo to see animals" he said. I thought this a strange think to say considering they had only just arrived at the very second enclosure with the first containing two very visible and very active bears 
~Thylo
~Thylo
Bengal Tiger
Well-Known Member
Was he facing in the wrong direction? If that wasn't the case, then he was either very blind or very stupid, knowing teens (me being one), probably the latter.Went to the Smithsonian National Zoo a couple of weeks ago and encountered a teen complaining to his parents that the zoo had no visible animals. "I thought we came to the zoo to see animals" he said. I thought this a strange think to say considering they had only just arrived at the very second enclosure with the first containing two very visible and very active bears
~Thylo
What was weird is they seemed to be a family of zoo enthusiasts, or at least they all had expensive cameras ready to go. I hope the kid managed surviving the rest of the day without seeing ASCO
~Thylo
Bengal Tiger
Well-Known Member
What is ASCO?What was weird is they seemed to be a family of zoo enthusiasts, or at least they all had expensive cameras ready to go. I hope the kid managed surviving the rest of the day without seeing ASCO
~Thylo
Asian Short-clawed Otter, as distinct from NARO (North American River Otter)
It's sad how many adults have this rather entitled mindset when in reality they come off just as immature, if not even more than typical children (not just in zoos, but just in general :/ )
Aardwolf
Well-Known Member
One of the weirdest visitor interactions I've had was years ago when my wife and I were walking around the Salisbury Zoo. A woman was looking into the window of the beaver exhibit into the lodge, then stopped, turned to us (who she had never met and had never spoken to before) and asked, "Do you think I should knock on the glass and see if they'll wake up?" My wife (because I was too gobsmacked) explained why that would not be appropriate, which the woman accepted, then walked off. If she had just knocked on the glass, I would have been annoyed, but not surprised. The fact that she asked someone nearby (not knowing that one was a zoo professional) was just strange to me.
Jambi
Well-Known Member
I've experienced this recently at Blackpool Zoo, their wolves happened to be out and there was a large group of people stood at the viewing platfor of their enclosure howling at them. I felt sorry for the poor things having to listen to all that noise, and it saddens me to think it must be a regular thing for them.
On an unrelated note, I heard a kid shout "That's not a wolf! That's a dog!" which, okay, I shouldn't be too annoyed about, because the kid was only about four or five, and the wolves at this zoo are Iberian wolves, which from a distance do kind of look like German Shepherds, but still, it made me chuckle.
I know this has to be years ago because I've never actually seen a beaver in there, in years of going. I'm not sure it exists given there's that indoor viewing bit too lol.
Aardwolf
Well-Known Member
Not too long ago, actually, and I saw them on exhibit early this year. Ironically, Salisbury is the zoo where I most reliably see beaver on exhibit - but it really helps if you time it right and get to their exhibit shortly before closing. That’s when they tend to wake up and come out, and it’s also around when they are fed. They have a little hollow dug inside their lodge that they like to hunker down in, which makes them very hard to see through the viewing window, even for such big animals at such close range.
My visit last week was right before closing, still didn't see them
I've seen the species at every other zoo I've been to that has them, most of which I've only visited once. Salisbury is one of my "local" zoos, never seen theirs!
A few things that irritated me at the Beekse Bergen (during a visit that, despite my several irritation posts today, I actually enjoyed a lot):
- A father calling some animals (don't remember exactly which ones) basically stupid, dirty vermin - but using, in front of his children, much more obscene wording that I refuse to translate. I really don't like profanity or obscenity used around children even though I don't per se abhor it. But even worse than the bad example of the vulgar language, what kind of example is that father giving to his children with that attitude about animals?
- People complaining about animals under human care while at a zoo (and one with generally very spacious exhibits at that). Why go to the zoo if you don't like it? Why not go to a nature reserve or something?
- Parents or grandparents not properly keeping their kids in line (i.e. running around freely, screaming or yelling, playing with gravel or sticks) or sometimes even encouraging them to misbehave or giving bad examples.
- People imitating - usually very poorly - animal sounds to get the attention of animals.
- People continuing to talk while a staff member is giving an educational talk (this was on the boat safari), making the information much harder to hear.
I've never understood this one as I almost always hear it at places where it really isn't true the animals are receiving bad care. If they don't like the concept of a zoo then why did they pay money to visit it, only to complain the whole time? I'm sure some animal rights activists do this to try and get some dirt on a place, but in most cases I've noticed personally I don't think they were activists, just people who didn't care for zoos. There tends to be a lot of hypocrisy involved as well it seems, for example a lot of people hate on SeaWorld yet Tiger King was so popular it got a sequel. Irritating.
To be honest I personally also couldn't stop watching said train wreck, however unpleasant the characters and the animal aspects were.
Usually these people just look like any other visitor - but then again, I have rarely seen activists readily identifiable as such. The only thing that I have so far noticed is that these complaints often come from people of the millenial generation, not sure if there is some connection there. I might be a millenial myself age-wise, but I often feel quite out of touch with that generation.
Yes, Yes, Yes, we hear that all the time! Apparently all cats are cheetahs.
The Great Spotted Cat - in malnourished, regulation and obese form. Snow leopard are a colour variant (possibly albino like the blue-eyed white tiger - a highly endangered species that lives in the snow).
Source: File:Cheetah, leopard & jaguar (en).jpg - Wikipedia
