Why was it still in the free flight aviary that long? That should have been remedied long before that point.
Also I said I hadn't witnessed any rude behavior personally, I know it does happen from time to time.
Visible Zoo Staff
- Thread starter JVM
- Start date
Why was it still in the free flight aviary that long? That should have been remedied long before that point.
Also I said I hadn't witnessed any rude behavior personally, I know it does happen from time to time.
ifesbob
Well-Known Member
I think having knowledgeable staff/volunteers around is a good thing for a zoo. For example at Milwaukee recently the people they had near the Gila monsters and the king cobra knew a lot about their animals and were clearly very passionate about them, and that helped the feel a lot. I also like when keepers are willing to talk, even though I know they're busy. At the National Zoo, a keeper was clearly focused on feeding animals but was still talking about them to a group of people. I don't know if it was part of a tour or something, but I think it was nice that she was talking about the animals and what she was doing. It really showed how passionate keepers are and helps to bring excitement to an exhibit. I also remember a keeper bringing back a frog into its display area who was talking to people in the area about why it wasn't there (they were trying to get a fecal sample from it, the frog was uncooperative). I've had one (or witnessed one) rude interaction from a keeper which I understand because they're busy, but I also feel like public interaction is an important part of being a keeper, and if you're rude it can really sour an experience for someone.
I used to work in a zoo and I can say that when I had the time (which, to be honest, was sometimes a rarity...) I really enjoyed chatting with "zoo/animal nerd" guests. Zoo people love our animals and love to chat about them and a lot of zoo people love to chat about, well, their zoo and other zoos too. I will say that this depends on the individual day because sometimes I was just toooooo busy to really stop and say anything, and also keep in mind that a lot of zoo people are "animal people" and not necessarily "people people" who are extroverted enough to have conversations with complete strangers. When I go to other zoos, I chat with the keepers as well (and mention where I work/ed) if I can tell they're not busy at the moment.
Usually chatting will not get you to a behind-the-scenes area, but you never know. My facilities were more relaxed about BTS tours, but I still probably wouldn't have taken someone I didn't know BTS. Many facilities, especially the bigger ones like SD and the like, have strict rules about BTS tours and you need to get prior permission from your boss, etc. to take anyone BTS.
Usually chatting will not get you to a behind-the-scenes area, but you never know. My facilities were more relaxed about BTS tours, but I still probably wouldn't have taken someone I didn't know BTS. Many facilities, especially the bigger ones like SD and the like, have strict rules about BTS tours and you need to get prior permission from your boss, etc. to take anyone BTS.