Zoos

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:05 pm

i have loved zoos since i was a child. but not the ones where animals are confined to small cages, the best zoos provide natural habitat and space for them. i grew up going to the Washington DC zoo operated by the Smithsonian, National Zoo...it's really neat with online webcams. the San Diego and Miami zoos are wonderful as well. how do you feel about zoos? cruel, or educational and preserving species? what was your favorite exhibit at the zoo? :yh_monkey

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:16 pm

OOH OOH!!!! I LOVE the zoo!!! The Detroit zoo really sucked up until a few years ago. 2 things I love about our zoo now:

1: The Arctic Ring of Life. It's an enclosure with seals, penguins, and polar bears, all separated from each other of course, with an underwater walkway. You can look up through the tunnel and see the bears and seals swimming above you. It's huge, and much more natural than their old enclosure.

2: About 2 years ago, the powers that be at the zoo decided that the elephants weren't getting enough exercise. Elephants need to roam long distances every day, just like they do in the wild, and in the tiny enclosure here, they couldn't. So the Detroit zoo released the 2 remaining elephants to a preserve in (I believe) Texas, where they have miles and miles of space to roam. The Dertoit zoo is the only zoo in history to have released animals for no other reason than the good of the animal.

robinseggs · Post by **robinseggs** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:22 pm

I love zoos too, but only if the the animals are kept in as close to their natural environment as possible. Plenty of space, plentiful food/water and lots of places to hide and feel safe. That's awesome about the Detroit Zoo letting those elephants go! Did you know our zoo here is St. Louis is FREEEEEEE???!!!!

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:28 pm

BR you remind me of the shark exhibit at sea world, you walk through a tunnel of plexiglass where they swim all around you. i would certainly include aquariums in this discussion, i really like them, but have a bad feeling about dolphins in captivity jumping through hoops. i was a show diver at marineland briefly and played catch with dolphins all the time, not as part of a show, but for fun. the show divers would swim around in the big tank with tacky "jaws" music playing LOL.

robinseggs · Post by **robinseggs** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:35 pm

Wow LC, you are an amazing person!! What an experience to swim with dolphins! I did it once in Mexico but it cost me a pretty penny!

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:44 pm

i have SCUBA dived all my life, it is far better to swim with creatures in the wild. at marineland they wanted us to swim with sharks and give the tourists a thrill. one day a big bull shark swam up and bit a lemon shark in half, then started circling the divers...that bull shark disappeared that night! ...but you know what, he was only doing what he was programmed by nature to do. it was not his fault.

rainbowsmiles · Post by **rainbowsmiles** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 9:08 pm

IMO zoos are cruel and unnesessary! I didn't visit them as a child seeing as my parents were/are into animal liberation and so I grew accustomed to that way of thinking. I also feel the Circus is inhumane! I don't judge others who enjoy the zoo though because that is their perogative.

minks · Post by **minks** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 9:48 pm

Speaking of zoo's do they evacuate them in hurricanes does anyone know and where would all those animals go? I sure hope they remain safe.

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 11:58 pm

lady cop wrote: i have loved zoos since i was a child. but not the ones where animals are confined to small cages, the best zoos provide natural habitat and space for them. i grew up going to the Washington DC zoo operated by the Smithsonian, National Zoo...it's really neat with online webcams. the San Diego and Miami zoos are wonderful as well. how do you feel about zoos? cruel, or educational and preserving species? what was your favorite exhibit at the zoo? :yh_monkey Never been to one, never will.:yh_shame

pantsonfire321@aol.com · Tue Aug 30, 2005 1:42 am

Zoos are a bit crap here in the uk but safari parks are a lot better - one in particular is longleat safari park. its great the animals are very well looked after and you can tell the animals

are really happy and breeding - ive been to loads in the uk and london zoo is not high on my list, its very expensive and the exibits are very shabby i was very dissapointed .now last year we went to jamaica and my daughter got to swim with the dolphins it was nice but i wasnt very impressed with the amount of space they had, also the sting rays and sharks where kept in this tiny pool which barely covered them. it really was heart breaking to see these wild animals flapping around .

PurpleChicken · Post by **PurpleChicken** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 2:54 am

It's an interesting question isn't it? Whether zoos are cruel or not.

On the one hand, I believe anything that takes an animal from its natural habitat is certainly not in the best interests of the animal, and in many cases cruel. But if by doing that you are creating awareness, promoting conservation, and enabling the continuation of the species, surely that is a good thing.

I think the key relates to the conditions that the animals are kept in. Cages are a no go - definitely cruel. But open range type zoos, where the animals are free to roam in surroundings very similar to their natural habitat - that can't be so bad.

Mind you, I do wonder about major climate changes - polar bears in Queensland, Australia ... that's not natural!!

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 12:55 pm

I agree about London zoo....it's pretty old fashioned and not animal friendly . Some of the zoos do a pretty good conservation job with endangered species but they are still places with cages...not at all natural. The one place I cannot praise too highly is Monkey World in Dorset.... it is run by an american couple and started as a sanctuary for chimps that were being used for entertainment and had been abused. ....made to smoke, given recreational drugs, used as pets and dressed in kids clothes...the list of abuse is huge. They rescue chimps and other apes from other countries as well and have been as far afield as taiwan where they take babies from the mothers they have killed in the wild...these babys are then sold in markets. They have made goverments pass laws against this trafficking.

To my knowledge, we don't have circuses in the UK which involve animals...it is all people skills and thrills. Talking about circuses....I am a great fan of the Cirque de Soleil. i have loads of DVDs. They are absolutely awesome...based in Canada I believe. Anyone in the garden seen them ?? They come to the UK once a year but never near to where i live.

Bez

robinseggs · Post by **robinseggs** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 7:26 pm

minks wrote: Speaking of zoo's do they evacuate them in hurricanes does anyone know and where would all those animals go? I sure hope they remain safe.

Back in 1992 I think for Hurricane Andrew the Miami Zoo had to act fast for the approaching storm....and stuck all the flamingos in the public restrooms!!! Saw this on documentary on Animal Planet and pic was hysterical!!

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 7:29 pm

actually the miami metrozoo was devastated and wild animals roamed miami for days and weeks. some never were recovered, the everglades are full of exotics.

pantsonfire321@aol.com · Wed Aug 31, 2005 1:01 am

I have seen a circus with animals here in london on epping forest about two months ago - i didnt go in and watch but i had a good look around the site they were staying on they had tigers lions ect .i was amazed i think the company are french because i have seen the same company in france being advertised on my travels i always thought is was banned here in the uk.