Zoo/Aquarium Hot Takes

amur leopard said:
You do know that a hot take is a controversial opinion that you hold, not what you would take on a hot day, right? :p
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As any mother would attest to for a child. Taking n consuming is much different or children, as it's much easier to hold either in one's hand treats to consume or better yet to wear upon one's clothing!
 
A hot take of mine: at least in North American zoos, White-tailed Deer are the most worthless possible zoo animals. They serve only to waste space. Any zoo that has the species would be vastly improved if they replaced the species with some other species (or multiple other species, given how large enclosures for Whitetails usually are).
 
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birdsandbats said:
A hot take of mine: at least in North American zoos, White-tailed Deer are the most worthless possible zoo animals. They serve only to waste space. Any zoo that has the species would be vastly improved if they replaced the species with some other species (or multiple other species, given how large enclosures for Whitetails usually are).
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Would this also apply to mule deer or blacktailed deer? They are common but with the right message they can serve as great ambassadors for local conservation. Also it is hard to get other species of deer because of transport laws. Some zoos can only hold white tailed deer and leaving the cervids with no representation in zoos could fuel the large resentment of deer among the public. While they are common and I would love to see them replaced with more exotic species you can’t deny they can serve it important purpose.
 
Westcoastperson said:
Would this also apply to mule deer or blacktailed deer? They are common but with the right message they can serve as great ambassadors for local conservation. Also it is hard to get other species of deer because of transport laws. Some zoos can only hold white tailed deer and leaving the cervids with no representation in zoos could fuel the large resentment of deer among the public. While they are common and I would love to see them replaced with more exotic species you can’t deny they can serve it important purpose.
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Mule Deer are nowhere near as widespread as whitetails, so I think most collections with Mule Deer are fine (especially since Mule Deer are nowhere near as common in zoos, either).

No cervid representation is better than keeping White-tailed Deer.
 
birdsandbats said:
A hot take of mine: at least in North American zoos, White-tailed Deer are the most worthless possible zoo animals. They serve only to waste space. Any zoo that has the species would be vastly improved if they replaced the species with some other species (or multiple other species, given how large enclosures for Whitetails usually are).
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What if the white-tailed deer are mixed with other species? For instance, Buttonwood Park Zoo mixes white-tailed deer with American Bison, Sandhill Cranes, and over a dozen Waterfowl species.
 
birdsandbats said:
A hot take of mine: at least in North American zoos, White-tailed Deer are the most worthless possible zoo animals. They serve only to waste space. Any zoo that has the species would be vastly improved if they replaced the species with some other species (or multiple other species, given how large enclosures for Whitetails usually are).
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Many of the white-tails in zoos are rescues. There's also the whole weird cervid laws thing that make it really difficult for a lot of states to bring in new deer. Seeing captive ones, especially rescues, helps animal-ignorant people and children learn more about them as living things, beyond being pests.
I'd take white-tail over fallow 9/10 times.
 
TinoPup said:
Many of the white-tails in zoos are rescues. There's also the whole weird cervid laws thing that make it really difficult for a lot of states to bring in new deer. Seeing captive ones, especially rescues, helps animal-ignorant people and children learn more about them as living things, beyond being pests.
I'd take white-tail over fallow 9/10 times.
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Fallow Deer could be used instead, though. White-tailed Deer are as common as dirt in the wild, nearly every zoo visitor will see them just about every day.
 
Neil chace said:
I think you overestimate wild sightings. I live in a suburban area (with woods behind my house, I shall add) where white-tails are native, and seldom see wild deer. I've certainly seen them, but not often by any means. Wild turkeys, on the other hand, I see dozens every day- but deer are a rare sighting.
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Really? Swamp the frequency of deer and turkeys and you have how often I see them.
 
birdsandbats said:
Really? Swamp the frequency of deer and turkeys and you have how often I see them.
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Yeah. I seldom see deer, but there's a large flock of wild turkeys that roost in the trees behind my house. Sometimes I've counted over 50 at one time (though recently it's been closer to 20).
 
I mean, maintaining giant pandas are costly on their own, and while I’d rather see other species besides whitetail deer in collections at least a zoo wouldn’t have to worry about millions of dollars going down the drain over a deer :rolleyes:
 
birdsandbats said:
Fallow Deer could be used instead, though. White-tailed Deer are as common as dirt in the wild, nearly every zoo visitor will see them just about every day.
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Most places do use fallow instead, though. I LOVE deer, but I could go years without seeing another fallow and be perfectly happy. Seeing white-tail in the wild doesn't mean people know anything about them, beyond "they're pests" and "they cause car crashes". People take them for granted, imo. Learning about native species is important.
 
I'll play Devil's advocate and note that the current mainland population is way too overpopulated in many parts of the continent, and in turn has caused environmental issues within their own range. Ex. plant endangerment, increased disease spread (including to other animals, including moose which are shown to be affected by whitetails due to their prevalence of spreading brain worms), and increased rates of car accidents and casualties. It's not the whitetail deer's fault; it's from the results of habitat altercation and overhunting of predators which normally would control their populations, along with other causes. However, this is straying off-topic, and therefore I shall cease from explaining further.

To be on-topic, I don't see what's wrong with keeping whitetail deer at all, though I'd rather see other deer species in place (or hopefully a zoo doesn't dedicate a paddock fully for whitetails). I don't think they're the worst species to have in zoos compared to actually financially wasteful animals such as giant pandas.
 
Birdsage said:
Beer gardens don’t belong in zoos. Enough said.
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In the summer the National Zoo contracts with a cocktail bar and it's the best. They also serve booze in their main cafeteria and I don't think i've ever heard of stories of over-intoxication (at least to the point where it's a systemic issue)
 
amur leopard said:
Just gets weirder by the minute...
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I suppose that we shall ambergris truly understand what they are trying to say :p

My hot take is that Shedd is slightly overrated, mainly due to overstocking, I’m not sure how controversial this is, but that’s me opinion. I also believe that the Small-Mammal Reptile House in LPZ is poor quality, most of the exhibitry is done very shabbily.
 
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