What's something you heard at a zoo or aquarium from another guest that irritated you?

I've heard this one a lot. The zoo I volunteer at no longer has warty pigs, but when they did I would hear this almost every time I was at the exhibit. And to be honest, this one never bothered me. It was extremely easy to see why people would think the warty pig is a warthog, as they are relatively similar species (looks wise). I've also heard:
Lemur = Monkey
Kangaroo = Dog
Spur-thigh Tortoise = Kitty
Sloth Bear = Gorilla
Red Panda = Fox
Red Panda = Lemur
Red Panda = Baby Regular Panda
Leopard = Cheetah, Jaguar, or Tiger
Serval = Baby Cheetah
Emu = Big Duck
Crowned Pigeon = Peacock
River Otter = Seal
The tortoise one must be a toddler and the emu lol
 
As there seems to be a collection of rhino quotes at the moment,I heard a great one at Whipsnade a few years ago.

Whilst looking at the Indian rhinos (Whipsnade also have White) I heard one bloke tell his children about the differences between the two species. One of the differences he mentioned was that the other rhinos they saw earlier were mammals, but these are reptiles.

Calling f rhino a reptile takes the cake.

In the time I spent working at the zoo, I lost count of how many times I was standing nearby when some visitor asked out loud, while standing right in front of sign: "I wonder what this is?" Research shows that use of the signs declines with age.

As for the kid calling a seal a kitty, a cat might be the only other animal with prominent whiskers that the kid had ever seen.
 
At any public aquarium, without fail, I'll always hear:

"Nemo!"
"Dory!"
and "Baby Shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo!"

It seems like the average guest has a really small reference pool of fish knowledge.
Some aquariums I even recall seeing promotional art for the Animated film, so I think aquariums have already adapted to the whole "Nemo" and "Dory" thing.
 
Once a lady saw a red panda and said wow they have a orange raccoon. It did irritate me but at the same time it was kinda funny.
That’s not that bad, red pandas do sorta look like raccoons. Once I heard a woman call a nyala a giraffe… I wasn’t really irritated, I was just trying really hard not to laugh. I wonder where that woman learned her animals… :confused:
 
Some aquariums I even recall seeing promotional art for the Animated film, so I think aquariums have already adapted to the whole "Nemo" and "Dory" thing.
I saw a tank at World Aquarium labeled as this:

full
 
Somebody pronounced Okapi as an oakapie and to this day is probably the worst incorrect pronunciation of an animal I have seen, to be fair they did actually read the sign and did not just call it a zebra like other people do. I Also have heard red pandas referred as a rainforest animal and oddly enough a tapir as a baby elephant.
 
At any public aquarium, without fail, I'll always hear:

"Nemo!"
"Dory!"
and "Baby Shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo!"

It seems like the average guest has a really small reference pool of fish knowledge.

And if grandparents are in the group, you can slightly expand that list to include “Jaws” for any shark.

The pool for regulation zoo animals is no more varied:

Simba/Mufasa = any male lion
Nala = any lioness
King Julien = any Ring-tailed lemur (as well people singing that stupid song)
Harambe = any gorilla

And to a lesser degree, references to King Louis and Baloo from Jungle Book.

That’s pretty much it.
 
Somebody pronounced Okapi as an oakapie and to this day is probably the worst incorrect pronunciation of an animal I have seen, to be fair they did actually read the sign and did not just call it a zebra like other people do. I Also have heard red pandas referred as a rainforest animal and oddly enough a tapir as a baby elephant.

I don't see the problem with this? They're trying. Plenty of words aren't pronounced how they look, especially when they're in unfamiliar languages.

Red pandas do live in rain forests.
 
I don't see the problem with this? They're trying. Plenty of words aren't pronounced how they look, especially when they're in unfamiliar languages.

Red pandas do live in rain forests.

I agree with the first statement

Red pandas are present in Jungles yes, but not as heavily as temperate forests and highlands, as that is a norm throughout zoos.
 
I don't see the problem with this? They're trying. Plenty of words aren't pronounced how they look, especially when they're in unfamiliar languages.

Red pandas do live in rain forests.
Never said it was exactly a problem and
to fair I was like 5 at the time this happened so I was upset but if it was nowadays I would not really care. Granted with the title of the thread I think the meaning of the statement came out wrong due to the context and I apologize for the misunderstanding as I was not saying it with ill intent and was just saying as a child I was a little irritated at them. In regards to the red panda I did not actually know they were found in more tropical regions and was wrong on that but the fact they are so associated with highland forests was why I thought it was kind of odd.
 
Never said it was exactly a problem and
to fair I was like 5 at the time this happened so I was upset but if it was nowadays I would not really care. Granted with the title of the thread I think the meaning of the statement came out wrong due to the context and I apologize for the misunderstanding as I was not saying it with ill intent and was just saying as a child I was a little irritated at them. In regards to the red panda I did not actually know they were found in more tropical regions and was wrong on that but the fact they are so associated with highland forests was why I thought it was kind of odd.

This is a thread about things that irritate you, which implies it was a problem.

Temperate zones have rain forests, too :)
 
This is a thread about things that irritate you, which implies it was a problem.

Temperate zones have rain forests, too :)
That is true that this thread is about things that irritate you and that my post probably should have of been not posted as it was not really on the topic as looking back now my anger about that as a child was honestly quite unnecessary and I am truly sorry if I caused any problems @TinoPup.
 
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