Zoos in the Popular Media

I saw all the Wild Island episodes a couple of years ago when they first came on Sky. I didn't think the zoo really came across that great, especially in terms of the behind-the-scenes bits (such as the capybara housed in a bare concrete cage).
 
Now that I think about it this might be the same show I saw a while ago...

If it is the Singapore Zoo has some bad off exhibit Hyena cages...
 
Belfast featured on BBC Northern Ireland in 2006. Zoo Days is going to switch from Chester to Colchester.
 
I've seen another zoo series which i don't think was mentioned, Zoo Babies from Auckland. It was on the zone reality channel and it was an episode where a female Orang and her baby died and a white rhino was born.

The title of this also reminds me of on old Chester Zoo series called 'The Baby Zoo' which focused on Chester's breeding plans at the time (early 2000's if I recall). I think one of the episodes showed Sithami's 1st birthday...
 
I remember back in the eighties a programme on BBC1 called "zoo 2000", hosted by Jeremy Cherfas, i think it was a series of 5-6 episodes looking at the evolution of zoological gardens, there was also a BBC book to go with this series that i have been desperate to get my hands on.
Jeremy i remember saying in this programme that his favourite zoo enclosure was the polar bear exhibit at Tacoma zoo, whether this exhibit is still there i don't know.
 
Yes kiang I saw that too. The book is still available - I read it at the time but got it from the library.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-2000-Look-Beyond-Bars/dp/0563202815/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203277322&sr=8-6]Amazon.com: Zoo 2000: A Look Beyond the Bars: Books: Jeremy Cherfas[/ame]
 
have just bought it £1.28 + £2.75 p&p i can't believe it, what a bargain!
 
Do you remember Anthony Smith's "Great Zoos of the World" series, prob in the 70's. Six programmes, first two about San Diego, then London, Beijing, Rotterdam or Antwerp, ?Bronx.
 
@kiang: Yes, the polar bear exhibit is still at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, which is a small city half an hour south of Seattle. The polar bear exhibit won Best Exhibit of the year from AZA (American Zoo & Aquarium Association) back around 1983 or so. I've been to the zoo twice, and the exhibit is no longer the precedent-setting enclosure it was 25 years ago. The large underwater section is quite good, but the space for the bears is smaller than at many other zoos.
 
I've just seen pictures of that polar bear exhibit, do the bears have access the grassy area or do they just have the mockrock?
 
Pygathrix said:
Do you remember Anthony Smith's "Great Zoos of the World" series, prob in the 70's. Six programmes, first two about San Diego, then London, Beijing, Rotterdam or Antwerp, ?Bronx.
Click to expand...

Bit too young for that one, but it looks like my ideal zoo programme, featuring some great zoos there would love to see the series and see how those zoos have changed over the years.
 
Anyone see Tropic of capricorn on BBC2 tonight, the presenter was in Mozambique, where the locals have trained Gambian giant pouched rats to hunt out land mines, they put them on a lead within a cordoned off area and the rats sniff out the mines, they are light enough to walk over them without setting them off.
And those are big rats!
 
Pygathrix said:
Do you remember Anthony Smith's "Great Zoos of the World" series, prob in the 70's. Six programmes, first two about San Diego, then London, Beijing, Rotterdam or Antwerp, ?Bronx.
Click to expand...

I remember it, I think it showed snub-nosed monkeys and kiang at Beijing. Don't remember anything else though.
 
@CZ Jimmy: I believe that the bears do have access to some grassy areas, as well as the mockrock that you mentioned. But it is difficult to view the animals, as the visitor sightlines are poorly placed. Back when the exhibit opened (1983?) it was widely celebrated, but is now old in terms of great zoo enclosures. I will hopefully visit the Detroit Zoo this summer, as their polar bear exhibit is considered one of the finest in the world.
 
Thanks Snowleopard, now to get back on-topic...

I guess we could include all the youtube videos of zoos as being in the media. However, the one thing I dislike about them is that on nearly all the most watched zoo videos, the majority of the comments are from ****** saying "HaHa luk at tha stupid monkey!!" or the many, many "animal lovers" saying zoos are inhumane and "aww that poor tiger, he looks so sad, how would you feel locked away?"

It just really gets on my nerves... ;)
 
kiang said:
I remember back in the eighties a programme on BBC1 called "zoo 2000", hosted by Jeremy Cherfas, i think it was a series of 5-6 episodes looking at the evolution of zoological gardens, there was also a BBC book to go with this series that i have been desperate to get my hands on.
Jeremy i remember saying in this programme that his favourite zoo enclosure was the polar bear exhibit at Tacoma zoo, whether this exhibit is still there i don't know.
Click to expand...

I have that book and it is very good. Worth getting for £4.
 
great Zoos of the World

Do you remember Anthony Smith's "Great Zoos of the World" series, prob in the 70's. Six programmes, first two about San Diego, then London, Beijing, Rotterdam or Antwerp, ?Bronx.

I am sure that this was the same one that was aired in NZ a couple of times in NZ . But they showed ; San Diego x 2 , Berlin , Frankfurt , London , Antwerp and a Living Desert "Zoo" near Tucson AZ .

They didnt show any zoo from Asia or Australasia ( or not within NZ anyway )
I thoroughly enjoyed the series , but was disappointed that there were so few zoos . They could have done one Australian zoo , Chester and Jersey Zoo , some more US zoos at the very least !
 
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