Things people do that irritate you when you go to the zoo?
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TheEthiopianWolf03
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Well when it comes to small mistakes on taxonomy (Gorillas being identified as monkeys or calling an alligator a crocodile) I choose to ignore it if it comes from a kid. They come to the zoo to enjoy themselves and learn more about wildife so it's perfectly normal for a child to make mistakes. When an adult does it though, then it bugs me.
Teasing an animal is the number one thing that annoys me in zoos. I don't care what age the teaser is, it is something that shouldn't be done in a zoo or aquarium. It irritates the animals, It irritates the keepers, and it irritates the guest who are respecting the rules and are trying to have a good time.
Teasing an animal is the number one thing that annoys me in zoos. I don't care what age the teaser is, it is something that shouldn't be done in a zoo or aquarium. It irritates the animals, It irritates the keepers, and it irritates the guest who are respecting the rules and are trying to have a good time.
That and people laughing like the Happy Madison audience whenever they see a primate's backside. I always look at their intelligence, their hands, their adaptations to an arboreal lifestyle... And the other 99% of the population is like: "MONKEY BUTTS!!! MUNKY POOPOO!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Seriously, I think Zoos should ban idiots from visiting...
Well, I personally can handle ignorance, like people mistaking animals and such. But what I cannot stomach is irresponsible and unethical behavior, as well as the overall lack of understanding when it comes to what the zoo means; 99% of people just see it as mindless entertainment, and therefore will be rude to the animals and rarely appreciate their true value, or they'll unfairly berate ex-situ conservation errors and use all sorts of harmful rumors and lies to get more people to join their toxic crusade. Also, if I tell someone that their conduct is inadequate and they correct themselves, that's fine. But if their stick to their ignorant ways, to the point of threatening me with violence, that's not OK.
Hang on - that's rather sweeping and, tbh, woefully inaccurate. Age wasn't the determiner there, it was education and experience and empathy. My daughter and her friends would no more consider kicking a bird than, I assume, **you** would. Were you able to intervene? To educate? Or was griping about "the younger generation" the extent of your reaction?
Personally, I don't believe the two attitudes are always mutually exclusive and they can co-exits in one person. I can be fascinated by an animals appearance, movement, adaptations, etc. but would still find it funny if it passed wind.
animalelegirl
New Member
I think its really sad too that the parents allow their children to behave like that. However unfortunately the parents can be just as bad.
Once family was looking at the alligators (their enclosure is kind of a pit, people viewed them from above) and the father of this group took one of his crutches and started to poke an alligator! Of course I saw red, but before I could walk over one of the security guard saw it too and was all over it. I thanked him very loudly right in front of the family as I glared at them. I dont understand how people think its ok to do that to animals.
I am glad there are people out there like us that see the wrong in treating animals like that.
Spooky_Skellington
Member
Omg imagine if the alligator had jumped and grabbed the crutch and potentially damaged its teeth or ingested some of it
Just theory, but perhaps what irritates ZooChatters the most is when ignorance is actually detrimental to conservation efforts.
People who, through ignorance, believe that white tigers are a rare and endangered species are actively detracting from conservation efforts towards breeding programmes for actual endangered species (Sumatran tiger etc.) by supporting the facilities that hold these animals, and helping to fuel the public obsession with these animals.
When a visitor makes the less harmful assumption that a chimpanzee is a monkey, it does little damage ultimately but represents the fact that 99% of visitors are there purely for entertainment and neither know or care about the issues facing species or their taxonomic group.
I'm sure other experts in their field or enthusiasts would be just as irritated by people's ignorance but since zoos are very much in the public arena, the two are forced to interact constantly. The world's leading expert on fonts may be irriated 99% of people can't identify anything beyond Arial but generally people don't come far and wide to attend a Font Convention
People who, through ignorance, believe that white tigers are a rare and endangered species are actively detracting from conservation efforts towards breeding programmes for actual endangered species (Sumatran tiger etc.) by supporting the facilities that hold these animals, and helping to fuel the public obsession with these animals.
When a visitor makes the less harmful assumption that a chimpanzee is a monkey, it does little damage ultimately but represents the fact that 99% of visitors are there purely for entertainment and neither know or care about the issues facing species or their taxonomic group.
I'm sure other experts in their field or enthusiasts would be just as irritated by people's ignorance but since zoos are very much in the public arena, the two are forced to interact constantly. The world's leading expert on fonts may be irriated 99% of people can't identify anything beyond Arial but generally people don't come far and wide to attend a Font Convention
I remember taking my grandson to the Air and Space Museum for the first time. I had no idea what I was looking at and resorted to saying "look at the big green one or the small red one." I am sure I was irritating many more knowledgeable people. But I never let him run around or touch anything.
I came back recently from a great visit to the Zoo and was almost over-brimming with enthusiasm. The animals I saw that day had expressed a wealth of healthy and interesting behaviors. I wanted to share my experiences with my friends and talk about animals.
My voice was saturated with excitement when I said, "today, I got to walk among the lemurs at the Calgary Zoo!". One of my friends shouted something like, "zoos are terrible, a bunch of us were talking about this recently, you should watch the documentaries". I was quite startled by how virulent and scathing her voice and response was. I felt disrespected. I felt like my enjoyment was being vilified.
I had a string of counter-arguments forming in my head, but I quickly stopped when I imagined the discussion. She was intoxicated and I was sober and tired. It would be a wearying argument for me. So, I turned my face, said that I was going home to sleep, and left.
My voice was saturated with excitement when I said, "today, I got to walk among the lemurs at the Calgary Zoo!". One of my friends shouted something like, "zoos are terrible, a bunch of us were talking about this recently, you should watch the documentaries". I was quite startled by how virulent and scathing her voice and response was. I felt disrespected. I felt like my enjoyment was being vilified.
I had a string of counter-arguments forming in my head, but I quickly stopped when I imagined the discussion. She was intoxicated and I was sober and tired. It would be a wearying argument for me. So, I turned my face, said that I was going home to sleep, and left.
I can relate. I get this ALL the time, and worse! Maybe because I live in a country where tone matters more than words, but I've been compared to a slave trader and a Nazi for visiting zoos! This kind of shaming of ex-situ conservation and senslessless use of historic criminals as insults makes me sick to the stomach. But hey, in Spain, even politicians throw around the term "Nazi" as if it were "butter".
Among others, you could have joyfully countered by PC lecturing her about the misery that is alcoholism, and advised her to watch documentaries about beer brewing and whisky production instead. But maybe you just need to find new friends.
Water Dragon
Well-Known Member
Met someone a couple of weeks ago who thought that a meerkat was a chipmunk 
I can think of at least one collection which tried to mix meerkats and sousliks - which, although not chipmunks, are very similar.
It did not end well
I think I can top that: I met someone a couple of weeks ago who thought that a Pheasant Coucal (up on a branch) was a Kiwi.Met someone a couple of weeks ago who thought that a meerkat was a chipmunk
This didn't irritate me, but was still funny and I thought I would share. It was around the holiday season at Lincoln Park Zoo and I was in the primate house. A little girl went up to the De brazza's monkey (Cercopithecus neglectus) exhibit and yelled, "Look its Santa's monkey!"
You will be shocked by how many times I hear this, especially since there are signs and the pool is too small for a common hippo.
Water Dragon
Well-Known Member
It's alright. We all know who made the mistake of calling a Komodo Dragon a Newt!I made the mistake of accidentally calling Margay a Clouded Leopard before I noticed the signage at Welsh Mountain Zoo.Even though they look nothing alike and I am yet to see either species.Not one of my proudest moments.
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