Every time I tell my kids that we’re going to the zoo this coming weekend (or the next one), I am faced with such a wave of genuine delight that the little curious boy inside me awakens, anticipating passing through the wide gates decorated with images of animals and finding myself in this magical world of wild nature right in the middle of the city…
Even now, when I read a lot of books and posts, watch lots of videos about the daily life of animals in zoos and the people who care for them, I am always interested in similar threads with zookeepers unveiling new secrets and sharing incredible stories about their work. If you share my beliefs, then welcome to this list!
More info: Reddit
Not a zoo but a large public aquarium. The animals are fed the same restaurant quality seafood you eat. Sea otters are extremely expensive to keep for this reason. So are sharks, dolphins, beluga whales. And anything tropical and saltwater.
And the keepers are working for love because God knows it sure isn’t money.
It’s not really a secret and if you ask a keeper about an animal’s diet they’ll tell you, but many people have this notion of herbivores only eat plants and carnivores only eat meat.
The reality is there are very few pure herbivore or carnivore in the wild. One of the first things many predators eat from a large prey animal is the stomach and large intestines to get that partly digested plant matter.
It is believed that the first prototypes of zoos appeared as early as 3500 B.C. in ancient Egypt, where there was always some nosy pharaoh who was interested in observing animals not only in their natural habitat. And closer to the first century B.C., zoos in the courts of ancient monarchs began to acquire a scientific function – after all, scientists realized that it was a much more convenient way to observe the life of animals. It’s not surprising that, for example, zoos in Ancient China were called “Gardens of Knowledge.”
Depending on the zoo, you may never get to do things like hand-rearing orphaned animals – the bosses tend to claim “fun” things like that for themselves. You’re just there for day-to-day maintenance.
It is very hard work, physically speaking, and pays poorly. You’re outdoors in all seasons and weathers. You rarely get weekends off, or even two days in a row. No time off at Christmas or other holidays. You really have to be committed!
Also, sometimes the reason why animals aren’t in their exhibits is because they’re bastards and had to be removed from the main exhibit. We had a steller sea lion breeding colony. One of the most endangered marine mammal species on the planet. But we couldn’t let our male in with his females because at the apex of the breeding season this goofy f****r killed one of them and then grievously injured another. So he lived out back, alone, because he was an a*****e.
However, zoos began to carry out a full-fledged educational function closer to our time, starting from the end of the 18th century, and by the middle of the last century they finally went through the path of transformation from entertainment establishments for a bored public into serious scientific institutions. Animals began to move from cramped cages into spacious enclosures imitating their natural habitat, their diets became more balanced, and zoos themselves, in particular, began to work on preserving species on the verge of extinction.
but every once in a while they slip up or admit something in an unrelated conversation, and I have learned things such as
-the African wild dogs don’t get frozen meat anymore because they roll on it and smear it everywhere instead of eating it
-the baboons somehow insisted on listening to the song “Mobile” by Avril Lavigne on repeat at one point, thus f*****g up one of my friends Spotify recommendations.
Almost as soon as you enter, one of the first buildings you can go into has a large cordoned off area by the door full of super cute rabbits and guinea pigs, with only a small barrier surrounding them so kids can see them clearly. This section is apparently always really popular with families, as the kids love to see the animals hopping around, munching on vegetables and generally being really cute.
A few meters away from this pen was a large glass cage built into the wall, inside of which was a very large, mean looking snake. As I was looking at it, I made a comment about it’s size – to which my girlfriend responded;
*”Guess what they feed it?”*
Spoiler: every couple of days they go to the pen, grab one of those same cute little bunnies the kids were all fussing and cooing over, and toss it into the cage for the snake to munch on.
F*****g brutal.
In fact, there are many biological species of animals that either no longer exist in the natural environment or cannot adapt to changed living conditions. Changed, however, as a result of human activity – so that scientists in zoos, in fact, are trying to correct the mistakes that our ancestors made.
And along this path, zoos are achieving certain successes – for example, last year, the staff of the Prague Zoo managed to achieve, for the first time in Europe, the birth of the very rare Chinese pangolin, named ‘Little Cone.’ And when the process of restoring the population inside the zoo is already gaining momentum, biologists carefully return animals to their natural habitat. This process is called ‘reintroduction’, and it is damn complicated, but in fact, it plays a very big role in preserving the biodiversity of our planet.
Many of the animals may be on some form of birth control. In the case of great apes, it’s probably the same one most humans take.
Zoo’s don’t deliberately hide animals from you, but that doesn’t mean they’re aren’t animals that are not visible to the public. Animals can be off habitat for any number of reasons (social dynamic issues, special treatment, quarantine, solitary species, etc).
Keepers spend WAY less time than you think directly interacting with the animals.
Keepers have college degrees. That wasn’t always the case, but you won’t be considered for a job anymore without one unless you have a ton of experience. .
However we can’t feed the horse straight to the lion as horse racers d**g the s**t out of their horses with unknown d***s. they claim its a clean industry but its not.
so horses need to be able to hobble around a paddock for 6 months or so before we feed them to the lion.
Returning to my children’s zoo experiences, I had, and still have, one strict rule. A proper zoo in my book should have an elephant. An elephant is definitely a must. Well, in this collection of stories you will find narratives, funny and sad, not only about elephants, but also about many wonderful animals that actually live right next door to us. You just need to buy a ticket and come to the zoo one wonderful Sunday morning, like when you were a kid – to see them and enjoy.
My favorite topic they cover is the enrichment exercises. They put a lot of research & detail into keeping the animals engaged & entertained. The best one was the see through tongue maze they built for an ant eater to explore.
But yeah, not a keeper but apparently at my local zoo the staff just get ostrich eggs occasionally.
Every time I tell my kids that we’re going to the zoo this coming weekend (or the next one), I am faced with such a wave of genuine delight that the little curious boy inside me awakens, anticipating passing through the wide gates decorated with images of animals and finding myself in this magical world of wild nature right in the middle of the city...
Even now, when I read a lot of books and posts, watch lots of videos about the daily life of animals in zoos and the people who care for them, I am always interested in similar threads with zookeepers unveiling new secrets and sharing incredible stories about their work. If you share my beliefs, then welcome to this list!
More info: Reddit
And the keepers are working for love because God knows it sure isn't money.
It's not really a secret and if you ask a keeper about an animal's diet they'll tell you, but many people have this notion of herbivores only eat plants and carnivores only eat meat.
The reality is there are very few pure herbivore or carnivore in the wild. One of the first things many predators eat from a large prey animal is the stomach and large intestines to get that partly digested plant matter.
It is believed that the first prototypes of zoos appeared as early as 3500 B.C. in ancient Egypt, where there was always some nosy pharaoh who was interested in observing animals not only in their natural habitat. And closer to the first century B.C., zoos in the courts of ancient monarchs began to acquire a scientific function - after all, scientists realized that it was a much more convenient way to observe the life of animals. It’s not surprising that, for example, zoos in Ancient China were called “Gardens of Knowledge.”
Depending on the zoo, you may never get to do things like hand-rearing orphaned animals - the bosses tend to claim "fun" things like that for themselves. You're just there for day-to-day maintenance.
It is very hard work, physically speaking, and pays poorly. You're outdoors in all seasons and weathers. You rarely get weekends off, or even two days in a row. No time off at Christmas or other holidays. You really have to be committed!
Also, sometimes the reason why animals aren't in their exhibits is because they're bastards and had to be removed from the main exhibit. We had a steller sea lion breeding colony. One of the most endangered marine mammal species on the planet. But we couldn't let our male in with his females because at the apex of the breeding season this goofy f****r killed one of them and then grievously injured another. So he lived out back, alone, because he was an a*****e.
However, zoos began to carry out a full-fledged educational function closer to our time, starting from the end of the 18th century, and by the middle of the last century they finally went through the path of transformation from entertainment establishments for a bored public into serious scientific institutions. Animals began to move from cramped cages into spacious enclosures imitating their natural habitat, their diets became more balanced, and zoos themselves, in particular, began to work on preserving species on the verge of extinction.
but every once in a while they slip up or admit something in an unrelated conversation, and I have learned things such as
-the African wild dogs don't get frozen meat anymore because they roll on it and smear it everywhere instead of eating it
-the baboons somehow insisted on listening to the song "Mobile" by Avril Lavigne on repeat at one point, thus f*****g up one of my friends Spotify recommendations.
Almost as soon as you enter, one of the first buildings you can go into has a large cordoned off area by the door full of super cute rabbits and guinea pigs, with only a small barrier surrounding them so kids can see them clearly. This section is apparently always really popular with families, as the kids love to see the animals hopping around, munching on vegetables and generally being really cute.
A few meters away from this pen was a large glass cage built into the wall, inside of which was a very large, mean looking snake. As I was looking at it, I made a comment about it's size - to which my girlfriend responded;
*"Guess what they feed it?"*
Spoiler: every couple of days they go to the pen, grab one of those same cute little bunnies the kids were all fussing and cooing over, and toss it into the cage for the snake to munch on.
F*****g brutal.
In fact, there are many biological species of animals that either no longer exist in the natural environment or cannot adapt to changed living conditions. Changed, however, as a result of human activity - so that scientists in zoos, in fact, are trying to correct the mistakes that our ancestors made.
And along this path, zoos are achieving certain successes - for example, last year, the staff of the Prague Zoo managed to achieve, for the first time in Europe, the birth of the very rare Chinese pangolin, named 'Little Cone.' And when the process of restoring the population inside the zoo is already gaining momentum, biologists carefully return animals to their natural habitat. This process is called ‘reintroduction’, and it is damn complicated, but in fact, it plays a very big role in preserving the biodiversity of our planet.
Many of the animals may be on some form of birth control. In the case of great apes, it's probably the same one most humans take.
Zoo's don't deliberately hide animals from you, but that doesn't mean they're aren't animals that are not visible to the public. Animals can be off habitat for any number of reasons (social dynamic issues, special treatment, quarantine, solitary species, etc).
Keepers spend WAY less time than you think directly interacting with the animals.
Keepers have college degrees. That wasn't always the case, but you won't be considered for a job anymore without one unless you have a ton of experience. .
However we can't feed the horse straight to the lion as horse racers d**g the s**t out of their horses with unknown d***s. they claim its a clean industry but its not.
so horses need to be able to hobble around a paddock for 6 months or so before we feed them to the lion.
Returning to my children's zoo experiences, I had, and still have, one strict rule. A proper zoo in my book should have an elephant. An elephant is definitely a must. Well, in this collection of stories you will find narratives, funny and sad, not only about elephants, but also about many wonderful animals that actually live right next door to us. You just need to buy a ticket and come to the zoo one wonderful Sunday morning, like when you were a kid - to see them and enjoy.
My favorite topic they cover is the enrichment exercises. They put a lot of research & detail into keeping the animals engaged & entertained. The best one was the see through tongue maze they built for an ant eater to explore.
But yeah, not a keeper but apparently at my local zoo the staff just get ostrich eggs occasionally.
Read original article here