The zoo is 35 miles away and while it's a relaxing place and I love watching animals I kind of have mixed feelings about it because I can see both sides of the argument. The animals are captive but they're also doing breeding and conservation. So what's better? The animals at the zoo are fed and they take good care of them but they don't have freedom but if they were free some of them would probably be being ripped apart alive and eaten by other animals right now.
I go once or twice a year.
This post was edited by Livvie at February 1, 2017 12:26 PM MST
It's Cincinnati Zoo. Recently famous for a Gorilla incident that happened last year involving a young boy who got in to the enclosure. The Gorilla was shot dead by staff. My wife even took pictures of that Gorilla when we visited, but that was before the incident, obviously. We may go again this year. I know my daughter would love it.
yes we have a Zoo have been there but I do not like to visit haven't been there in 20 years Thank goodness they haven't put the Meerkats in prison yet. :-)
I was at a country zoo a few years ago and a little kid, about 4 years old, leaned over the enclosure and dropped his hat. The meerkats loved it. They were tossing it around, sometimes wearing it, sometimes wondering what the hell it was, and all the time the kid was screaming to get it back. Finally an attendant went in and retrieved it for him.
We have a few within a range of a few hours drive. Most of them are part of some sort of rescuing the endangered species. They are taking part in an international exchange of animals and in a breeding program, to have the species survive and being put back into nature. I love animals, and love watching them if they are given enough space, and surroundings that suits them. I hate seeing the opposite and will never visit such place again.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at February 1, 2017 12:49 PM MST
There's a lot of that inter-zoo exchange to propagate endangered species here, too. I know our local zoos exchange with each other but also with zoos overseas. It's a shame it's come to this. We've lost so many species, even in my lifetime.
I have a love/hate relationship with the zoo. Like many above, my parents took us as children. It was the Portland Zoo. I absolutely adored all the animals. Seeing, smelling, and feeling their presences was wonderful. On the other hand, I always felt really sorry for the animals. I still do.
I do feel it is a good form of teaching school children and teens about many endangered species. As I said above, when you can actually have their presence surrounding you, it becomes "real." You don't get that just looking at them on the computers. Some people who go to the zoo might be so moved by the experience, they may take action in preventing further extinctions. That is the positive side.
Even back then and definitely now, I would much rather go on a safari or to a protected area and see them run freely in their own environment.
Hi ~ I just bounced back on for a sec. and saw you had written! Like a Bozo, I didn't realize you had the same thought about the endangered species angle. Minds that think alike are guaranteed to find each other. I wish I would have read on down before just answering. I would have included you in my answer.
This post was edited by Merlin at February 1, 2017 12:40 PM MST
Could you imagine us on a safari?!?! We would have such a grand time. Seeing them in their natural surroundings and being free... WOW!! It would be beyond thrilling.
righty1 