So we went. Il Tonino really loves it there. He'll run from exhibit to exhibit, just marveling at all the animals. I think they're pretty cool, too, but..... I get just a teensy bit depressed when I see how small their homes are. I mean, the cougar has less square footage than the house I live in -- there is no way he can get into an all-out run! And I tend to think that the sea lions, who do the same loop through the water, day in and day out, must have gone mentally insane a few years back.
On the other hand, I wonder if any of the traditional "prey" animals ever feel happy that they never have to worry about being preyed upon. The elk looked really content, but then again, they had a roaming area the size of 2 football fields. The predators are shit out of luck. The poor tigers are asleep every time I see them. Luckily, today one of them was sleeping where he could easily be seen, rather than way, way back in his den.
Sigh... such a dilemma for this Gaia Hippie mama.
3 comments:
I agree. I feel the same way. The ones that make me really sad are the elephants. When I learned how much ground an elephant in nature covers in a day, it made me just so sad for the zoo elephants. :(
Ditto. Zoos and circuses are strong on my list of places to avoid. I feel less so about aquariums. Dolphins and whales give me the zoo blues but all the other fish? They seem OK.
Ah, stayed tuned for my blog about the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle--I've been to many and this is by far the best. Somehow they manage to give the animals maximum environment, with minimal humans-are-up-my-ass. YET for the zoo-goer, you somehow get really close to them and are able to marvel what amazing creatures they are. Its a great balance. the elephant especially have a DOPE forest and the african animals (hippo, giraffe, antelopes...) all mingle together on a huge savannah. Much better than the Portland Zoo in that regard...
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