Zoo/Aquarium Hot Takes

lintworm said:
If you don't want to cause random debates my advice would be to not post random points on a discussion forum.
Click to expand...

OK. Sure. Let's go there, since you asked.

I think zookeepers could do better to relate to guests who hunt big game and have spent countless more hours observing animals in the wild.
I don't want to be dishing out hot takes all day again, though. ;)
 
La Cucaracha said:
OK. Sure. Let's go there, since you asked.

I think zookeepers could do better to relate to guests who hunt big game and have spent countless more hours observing animals in the wild.
I don't want to be dishing out hot takes all day again, though. ;)
Click to expand...
I don't think anyone has a problem with people observing animals in the wild, it's the killing which is the problem, which brings me to 3 points
1..If the hunter is genuine in wanting to to conserve the species, why not just contribute financially without the killing.
2.. I know that some groups of animals benefit from controlled culling but that can be achieved by rangers or game keeper's
3..And how can it termed.a sport,I tell you when it's a sport, it's if the animals could shoot back
 
La Cucaracha said:
I think zookeepers could do better to relate to guests who hunt big game and have spent countless more hours observing animals in the wild
Click to expand...
Why do zookeepers need to relate to big game hunters? Their primary job is to take care of captive animals.

Unless a Hunter went to a zoo specifically to argue with keepers I don’t see that conversation ever even happening…
 
Frankie_number_1_fan said:
Cleveland
- Their elephant exhibit is one of the most unique I know of, and currently it is incredibly underutilized with an aging herd instead of a breeding herd. I would never believe it was a decade old if I wasn't told by the zoo itself. Tembo Trail in Toledo is the same age iirc and shows age a lottt
Click to expand...
African Elephant Crossing and Tembo Trail opened a year apart. AEC in May 2011 and Tembo in May 2012
 
Strathmorezoo said:
I don't think anyone has a problem with people observing animals in the wild, it's the killing which is the problem, which brings me to 3 points
1..If the hunter is genuine in wanting to to conserve the species, why not just contribute financially without the killing.
2.. I know that some groups of animals benefit from controlled culling but that can be achieved by rangers or game keeper's
3..And how can it termed.a sport,I tell you when it's a sport, it's if the animals could shoot back
Click to expand...

How is paying game wardens to shoot animals better for conservation than hunters paying for fees and funding wildlife protection?
I will admit I'm the odd duck here for being a Roosevelt conservationist, but hunters tend to be anti-zoo because of the "animals in cages" part.
You both just get a drawn out sigh from me.

The lead poisoning argument by Neil is a legitimate one, but also one our Congress refuses to address and not entirely the fault of hunters.
 
Newest Cucaracha hot take:
Children and parents should be banned from zoos. Zoos let them get away with things that they would crucify a single adult for.

Would love to post the pics I took at SDZ to prove my point, but I have a feeling the keepers cringing and looking away are either on here or will be defended dogmatically.
 
TZDugong said:
Why do zookeepers need to relate to big game hunters? Their primary job is to take care of captive animals.

Unless a Hunter went to a zoo specifically to argue with keepers I don’t see that conversation ever even happening…
Click to expand...

Second hot take: Because they're still guests! And they tend to be anti zoo for misguided reasons. Why is building a bridge between the two so much to ask?
 
La Cucaracha said:
Newest Cucaracha hot take:
Children and parents should be banned from zoos. Zoos let them get away with things that they would crucify a single adult for.

Would love to post the pics I took at SDZ to prove my point, but I have a feeling the keepers cringing and looking away are either on here or will be defended dogmatically.
Click to expand...
Guessing this was a joke (I certainly hope it is!). We were all children once, and I guarantee you that there would be half as many members on this forum as there is now if we weren’t allowed to visit zoos back when we were…
 
La Cucaracha said:
Newest Cucaracha hot take:
Children and parents should be banned from zoos. Zoos let them get away with things that they would crucify a single adult for.

Would love to post the pics I took at SDZ to prove my point, but I have a feeling the keepers cringing and looking away are either on here or will be defended dogmatically.
Click to expand...
Zoos would probably lose like 60% of their revenue if they banned kids and parents, as families are a major demographic for zoo visitors.
 
Kalaw said:
Guessing this was a joke (I certainly hope it is!). We were all children once, and I guarantee you that there would be half as many members on this forum as there is now if we weren’t allowed to visit zoos back when we were…
Click to expand...

It's a hot take.

Yes, we were all once children. And the AZA knows mothers and children are the major demographic of zoos and aquariums...

My serious suggestion? Child-free days.
 
Guess something went missing but even though there’s the odd bit of screaming and bad behaviour I can’t see a reason not to have kids at zoos - isn’t one of the points of the conservation message to keep it going? How does it do that if the younger generation are stopped from being able appreciate what we need to preserve.

It’s immense fun to go to the zoo too. It’d be sad to deprive little people of all that.

Now the double buggy on the other hand!
 
Kalaw said:
Guessing this was a joke (I certainly hope it is!). We were all children once, and I guarantee you that there would be half as many members on this forum as there is now if we weren’t allowed to visit zoos back when we were…
Click to expand...
I will say that one concept I have found appealing to myself is that of 'quiet days', or 'quiet mornings'. A day of reduced admissions; maybe targeted at children, maybe not. Some museums in the UK, incl. the Oxford NHM off the top of my head offer 'quiet mornings' to provide a more hospitable environment for children of special needs who want to visit a museum but may be stressed out by the sensory experience of a crowded museum attraction. And many other venues do this too - some shows stage 'relaxed performances' specifically so that those with special needs don't feel quite so startled. I have been to some 'relaxed performances' myself - and they are still as much a spectacle. At most some stage aspects, such as flash or smoke effects are toned down or removed. Very little is changed. So it's a model that works - so I don't see why zoos couldn't do a similar thing.
As much as we all[?] wish, I do doubt that barring children from the zoo is a productive or effective solution. I do feel that there should be a higher standard of ettiquette in regards to children visiting the zoo, and more intuitive ways that this could be achieved - but how many families have the money to book a flight to the DRC to see an okapi... Children I feel are a mixed bag. For better or for worse... but not all is terrible. And outreach to children remains one of the greatest priorities for any zoo.
Getting child-free adults into the zoo, then, I think is more of a productive question we could be asking. The problem's not so much that there are children in the zoo I think... but the problem is that with children in the zoo the zoo may not take itself as seriously as it should. And this I think is something that will come back to hurt the zoo; governments seeing them merely as places of entertainment - so they do not receive the same benefits given to museums or even libraries. And so a good challenge I think zoos could set out for is not necessarily to alienate either group, but provide paedological material suitable for either one. Though I will say - even for such materials aimed at younger readers it can be good for adults also!
 
La Cucaracha said:
Zoos let them get away with things that they would crucify a single adult for.

Would love to post the pics I took at SDZ to prove my point, but I have a feeling the keepers cringing and looking away are either on here or will be defended dogmatically.
Click to expand...
I will bite.

The biggest reason why zoos let children “get away with” things is that because zoos aren’t designed to be an Orwellian nightmare where guests are constantly supervised by cameras or staff standing there to find and warn rule-breakers. In fact that’s the reason why I witnessed adults getting away with things that should get them crucified like vaping in a bird house, smoking (this ones in the US so that’s definitely a no no), and tease animals. Another reason is because adults, for lack of a better term, “know better” to not break the rules unlike toddlers.

I also argue that most keepers only “look away” because they are keepers and have bigger priorities which they cannot afford walking up to every single rule breaker to tell them that what they are doing is wrong only to be ignored or get a snappy response from parents who are offended that someone call them out in their bad parenting.

La Cucaracha said:
PS Getting adults to come back to places like zoos and museums seems to be the real trick.
Click to expand...
Don’t get me wrong but other than associating zoo visits a children’s activity, most people just don’t care about animals, except their pets, to want to visit the zoo as a regular pastime.
 
La Cucaracha said:
How is paying game wardens to shoot animals better for conservation than hunters paying for fees and funding wildlife protection?
I will admit I'm the odd duck here for being a Roosevelt conservationist, but hunters tend to be anti-zoo because of the "animals in cages" part.
You both just get a drawn out sigh from me.

The lead poisoning argument by Neil is a legitimate one, but also one our Congress refuses to address and not entirely the fault of hunters.
Click to expand...
Using Rangers/Wardens to cull animals in situations that requires it removes the bad taste of killing animals simply for sport. I also think that banning children from visiting zoos at any time, isn't a bright one. Surely zoos are a vitally important educational tool and so if there is one group of people who should visit zoos it should be them
 
La Cucaracha said:
It's a hot take.

Yes, we were all once children. And the AZA knows mothers and children are the major demographic of zoos and aquariums...

My serious suggestion? Child-free days.
Click to expand...
If you have a problem with kids in zoos then say that. It’s your opinion and I can indeed respect it as a hot take. But saying that zoos actually *should* ban kids in general is a bit too silly to be taken seriously. I think you are fully aware of the financial issues highlighted @Platypusboy that this will cause, and the points that @Lafone and @Strathmorezoo make about entertainment and educational value.

Zoos were designed for entertainment, and that includes children. Yes, these days, conservation and science feature more in their goals, but that does not mean that they should be for mature ‘zoo enthusiasts’ to spend their days watching animals. And there wouldn’t be any zoo enthusiasts in the first place (at least not that many) if they weren’t introduced to animals at a young age, which will mostly be from zoo visits.

Although I still disagree, you do have a point in saying that children can be irritating for older zoo visitors, and I definitely see the appeal that you find in ‘child free days,’ but the suggestion that all children shouldn’t be allowed to have a family day out and enjoy seeing exotic animals because some kids act obnoxiously is just silly. This thread is for hot takes, not pet peeves.
 
La Cucaracha said:
It's a hot take.

Yes, we were all once children. And the AZA knows mothers and children are the major demographic of zoos and aquariums...

My serious suggestion? Child-free days.
Click to expand...
Uh that suggestion is not likely, since an adult could go on a day off from work when kids are still in school. I know the London zoo did something similar to "adults only" event and alcohol called zoo nights or something along those lines, but the adults were just as bad as the children, especially when you bring spirits into the mix.
 
Further to @Kalaw point on education and conservation I’d also mention that today when I was waiting around for the Philippine spotted deer fawn to wake up numerous adult visitors were ‘bored’ by the deer or the ‘dead end’ (the enclosure is the end of a path) and there was a lot of ‘who can be bothered with that!’.

But two little kids who came along with their dad loved the deer (and were keen to tell someone else no they were not ‘just’ reindeer) and had a little wonder at the fawn. They were full of the facts about where they lived and their sharp hooves. After a while they also came back with their drinks to see them again. Zoo ‘moments’ are fun for all ages and they were enjoying the deer as much as me. I doubt people would say I can’t go to the zoo so not really fair to say kids can’t either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top