Zoo Have You Ever

MonkeyBat

MonkeyBat

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Ok, this is weird but...

I was at my local zoo this weekend (Henry Doorly) and witnessed an escape. It wasn't anything super dramatic. Here's how it played out.

One of the keepers was cleaning the poop and left the door opened. A springhaas jumped out the door down into the staff hallway.

So this is a thread where you can ask any weird "have you ever" questions about zoos. For example, in my case, has anyone else seen an animal escape. You can ask questions and respond to others.
 
I have seen an animal rights activist try to allow animals to escape and witnessed a crowd (including myself) try to restrain him...
It was quite a sad experience however, because if any of those animals had got out, they would have been run over on the large main road outside the zoo (it is a free zoo, so no gates).
 
amur leopard said:
I have seen an animal rights activist try to allow animals to escape and witnessed a crowd (including myself) try to restrain him...
It was quite a sad experience however, because if any of those animals had got out, they would have been run over on the large main road outside the zoo (it is a free zoo, so no gates).
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yikes... where was this (don't have to answer)
 
MonkeyBat said:
yikes... where was this (don't have to answer)
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Montpellier zoo in the South of France. There was a large free flight rainforest aviary and an animal rights activist was holding both doors into open and coaxing the Congo peafowl and other ground-based birds out...
 
amur leopard said:
Montpellier zoo in the South of France. There was a large free flight rainforest aviary and an animal rights activist was holding both doors into open and coaxing the Congo peafowl and other ground-based birds out...
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The fact they didn't just fly out proves my point on zoos...
 
amur leopard said:
Montpellier zoo in the South of France. There was a large free flight rainforest aviary and an animal rights activist was holding both doors into open and coaxing the Congo peafowl and other ground-based birds out...
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I'd like to know what his plan was after letting these non native birds "free"
 
Echobeast said:
I'd like to know what his plan was after letting these non native birds "free"
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They never think that far ahead. ARAs have tried letting dogs loose at dog shows, where the dogs are either going to run to people for attention or run out into the highways and get killed. Many of them think a dead animal is better than a captive animal.
 
amur leopard said:
Montpellier zoo in the South of France. There was a large free flight rainforest aviary and an animal rights activist was holding both doors into open and coaxing the Congo peafowl and other ground-based birds out...
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So was this guy an animal rights activist ideologue or just a moronic member of the public showcasing his stupidity ? I mean how could you tell he was an activist?

Echobeast said:
I'd like to know what his plan was after letting these non native birds "free"
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If he was an activist I would bet that his "planning" didn't even take a minute to consider the bird's welfare. Most probably the "strategem" mostly consisted of posting his feat of "enlightened compassion" and "moral superiority" on social media like facebook and then basking in all of the attention and kudos that his virtue signalling could reap.
 
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Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
So was this guy an animal rights activist ideologue or just a moronic member of the public showcasing his stupidity ? I mean how could you tell he was an activist?



If he was an activist I would bet that his "planning" didn't even take a minute to consider the bird's welfare. Most probably the "strategem" mostly consisted of posting his feat of "enlightened compassion" and "moral superiority" on social media like facebook and then basking in all of the attention and kudos that his virtue signalling could reap.
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He was shouting (in French of course) : Animals deserve freedom! Fly, sweet little birds!
So yeah, definitely animal rights activist stock.

Of course he didn't plan it. When have you ever heard of an animal rights activist having any foresight whatsoever. Their whole movement is based off a seriously myopic idea which makes no sense and could never work in practise.
 
amur leopard said:
Their whole movement is based off a seriously myopic idea which makes no sense and could never work in practise.
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Why would the idea of animal rights not make sense? Given that universal human rights is a well established concept, why can there be no rights for animals? Is there something all humans have that grants them rights that all other animal lack?

The fact that non-human animals are capable of suffering alone should be enough in my opinion to warrant those animals serious consideration. The step to give them rights (even if not universal or inalienable) is not that big a leap.
 
amur leopard said:
He was shouting (in French of course) : Animals deserve freedom! Fly, sweet little birds!
So yeah, definitely animal rights activist stock.

Of course he didn't plan it. When have you ever heard of an animal rights activist having any foresight whatsoever. Their whole movement is based off a seriously myopic idea which makes no sense and could never work in practise.
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It just seems odd to me that an animal rights activist, given their entrenched hostility to zoos, would whimsically stroll over to the entrance to buy a ticket then enter a zoo and proceed to spontaneously attempt to "liberate" birds from an aviary. There would have to be some kind of planning and forethought involved in doing what he did.

From what I've observed personally, those kinds of groups and their ideologues are driven by emotion and group think but they are usually strategic in planning and implementing their actions and campaigns. I dont think that they should be underestimated in that regard at all.
 
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When I was at the Minnesota zoo, A young (3?) year old girl fell into the the stingray and cat shark touch pool

Oh and at the Como zoo one zookeeper asked me to pet the green anaconda. I mean, she was probably joking but still, I don't know what she was playing at. o_O
 
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Mr. Zootycoon said:
Why would the idea of animal rights not make sense? Given that universal human rights is a well established concept, why can there be no rights for animals? Is there something all humans have that grants them rights that all other animal lack?

The fact that non-human animals are capable of suffering alone should be enough in my opinion to warrant those animals serious consideration. The step to give them rights (even if not universal or inalienable) is not that big a leap.
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I was calling their 'free all animals from zoos' movements myopic, not the animal husbandry element...
In that sense of course I wholeheartedly agree...

Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
It just seems odd to me that an animal rights activist, given their entrenched hostility to zoos, would whimsically stroll over to the entrance to buy a ticket then enter a zoo and proceed to spontaneously attempt to "liberate" birds from an aviary. There would have to be some kind of planning and forethought involved in doing what he did.

From what I've observed personally, those kinds of groups and their ideologues are driven by emotion and group think but they are usually strategic in planning and implementing their actions and campaigns. I dont think that they should be underestimated in that regard at all.
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It is a free zoo.
 
The emperor newt in the wild kingdom pavilion was in a keepers hand when it leaped on the carpet. I am not sure if that counts but ok. :p
 
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