Zoo Day!

So yesterday, my fiance and I were visiting our local zoo, and of course I just have to tell you about it! First of all, our local zoo is awesome—and yes, I have been before (several times, I assure you). But I am so torn about zoos. I love visiting them and seeing all of the animals. We have made several different trips just to visit zoos within a day’s drive and I love it. If we didn’t have zoos I would never have seen so many amazing animals. It’s just not in my budget to travel around to see exotic animals in their natural habitat. Nor do I have the patience, honestly. So I absolutely adore zoos, right?

I do! But on the other hand, a part of me will always be saddened by them as well. Some of the animals look so sad, cooped up in display pens with only a few (if any) companions.  Just because they’ve never tasted freedom doesn’t mean they don’t yearn for it. Also, the idea of being stuck in a place I couldn’t leave drives me crazy. I can’t imagine what it would be like for a wild animal living in a zoo. I feel like I’m betraying all of the beautiful animals I see by enjoying their zoos.

As a Biology major (wait a second, Larkynn—you said that you were a Spanish Major in your last post! Were you lying? Nope! I graduated with two bachelor’s degrees. One in Spanish and one in Biology.) I understand the importance of observing animals and conserving them. It’s the Biologist in me that enjoys learning about the animals and getting to view them in the zoos! But there is a part of me that also wants to make sure that the animals in captivity are well taken care of. There are several articles available on the topic, but reading through them can make your head spin. One helpful site I found belonged to AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), an organization that monitors the welfare of animals in zoos and aquariums. They only hand out accreditation when facilities provide proof that they are currently up to date with the most recent animal welfare guidelines. Did your zoo make the list? Check out their website here: https://www.aza.org/current-accreditation-list

Thorny Devil

Mine did! Also, I promise that my visit to the zoo was awesome. There were lots of children on fieldtrips, learning about all of the amazing animals and how to protect them. A LOT of the snakes were also in motion yesterday! Several of them were eagerly following people around—which was really awesome—but also kind of creepy. It made me feel a little bit like an appetizing snake snack… I also saw a really creepy looking bug that I’ve never seen before, and sincerely hope to never meet in the wild… It was called a Thorny Devil Stick Insect. (Nope, totally not my hand. I wish I would have taken a picture of the guy in the enclosure. As it is, this is a free photo I borrowed from Google.)

I even met a peacock who loved having her picture taken! This is one of the many photos I took of her while at the zoo. See? She’s a natural diva!

--Larkynn