Project 1. The Zoo

When I first arrived to the Lincoln’s Children Zoo I was imagining tigers and monkeys and lots of exotic animals, but what I found was goats and llamas and pony rides. I did not realize that a children’s zoo is actually more of a petting zoo filled with domestic animals and a few exotic animals thrown in. Nevertheless, this zoo helped me discover something about zoos I normally would not have picked up on. It is cruel to keep animals in a zoo.
Upon first arriving to the zoo there was an adorable sign that read no puffing allowed, which meant no smoking, and had a little puffer penguin underneath it. I wandered a little farther and I came upon a pathway that was covered in vegetation. The walkway smelled like freshly mowed grass and was shaded by lanky dark trees and outlined by pretty little pink flowers. The first exhibit I came to was the reindeer exhibit. As soon as I walked up to the exhibit I was hit with a very pungent smell of feces. The exhibit was mostly just a fence made up with chicken wire that connected to a shed. One reindeer was eating dry yellow leaves while right next to it was a trough filled with dry grass and hay. Then the reindeer walked up right next to me and began to urinate onto the concrete. I noticed that the area the reindeer were kept in was about the size of a dorm room. The exhibit looked nothing like what a natural habitat would for a reindeer. The area did not have very much room for a dog let alone two reindeer. There was no grass or trees or any sort of vegetation for the reindeer because the entire area was made up of concrete. The reindeer themselves looked tired and unhappy. You could just see the misery on their faces and in their eyes. It just broke my heart. So why would zoos even have animals kept in such conditions just for the public’s enjoyment? I know that zoos are used to study animals but I do not understand how you would study an animal when it is not even in its natural habitat. For any accurate kind of data you want to replicate the animal’s natural way of life as much as possible, but that is unrealistic when you give them ten feet of space surrounded by cement. The only conclusion I can come to is to see the zoo as a way to make profit off of animals.
Next I visited the goat exhibit, which was right next to a pony ride exhibit. The goat exhibit was not just filled with goats but also had llamas in it. The goats each had a different color or shape. One goat was white, one had small horns and one goat even had floppy ears. There were only a few llamas and one of them was a burnt orange/brown color and was very shaggy. I felt bad for the llamas because they were cramped in with a bunch of little goats and you could just see the annoyed look on their face. Once again the area was very small but it did have a wooden bridge/ maze for the animals that crossed over to another area. The wooden bridge reminded me of a jungle gym for children and even a maze that hamsters would play on. You could feed the llamas and goats for fifty cents, but I never did like the smell of the feed on my hands. As you walked by the exhibit the animals would crowd an even push each other out of the way to see if you would feed them. A few of the goats were even bellowing because they were stuck behind other animals trying to receive food. This scene was very distressing to look at. I was wondering how I had never picked up on the cruelty of animals in zoos before now.
After the goat display I came upon a building that contained a whole range of animals inside. As soon as I entered the building I was hit with a moldy and soggy smell. Being inside the building I noticed it was very dark and damp. The room contained glass cages that had little facts about each animal tacked right onto the wall. The first exhibit I came to was the fruit bat display. The bats were a brownish black and a little larger than the bats that I have seen. All of the bats were sleeping and a couple of them were hanging onto the vent. One bat was even sleeping with its wings spread out. The bats were kept behind a small glass panel and inside there were branches streaming across and one bat was in a separate metal cage by itself in the corner. I could not figure out why this poor bat was separated from the others. Moving on I came upon many monkey exhibits. One that stood out to me was the Golden Lion Tamarin. These monkeys looked exactly like the name states. They had big golden manes that surrounded their little monkey faces. The monkeys lived in a small square space that had walls that were painted to resemble a rainforest. There were tree branches that extended out from the walls and even a pair of brown shaggy pants hanging from one of the branches, probably used as a sleeping area for the monkeys. There was one monkey that had caught my eye. It was the Kuhlis Marmoset monkey display. There were three black and gray monkeys inside no bigger than two fists. A sign right next to the exhibit said a monkey named Conor had lost a leg. How the monkey had lost a limb I did not know but I quickly was able to distinguish which monkey was disabled because he was on the lowest branch and was by himself. He looked extremely weak and tired. It very heart wrenching to see that poor monkey. Perhaps this is another reason that zoos exist, to take in the animals that are injured and cannot defend for themselves. However, this monkey could have hurt himself in this zoo. The cages were so tiny and crowded I could see how easily an animal could hurt himself or others.

The Lincoln Children’s Zoo has a seal exhibit and I was quite shocked to see what the exhibit looked like. I walked upon a wooden deck and I found what looked like someone’s backyard pool. Actually, the exhibit was even smaller than a backyard pool and one that hasn’t been cleaned in a while. The pool was very shallow and had leaves floating around on the top. Swimming in the pool were two spotted black and white seals, they were not as big as I thought the seals would be. They were only about four feet long. One was very active and swimming around the pool and the other one was just floating there and not moving at all. I almost thought the poor seal was dead until its fin twitched. Zoos should not be keeping such a wild animal in a small area and especially one that is unclean. This was such a clear mistreatment of animals. It is obvious that this exhibit in particular is there for profitable gain only.
The last exhibit I visited was the bald eagle exhibit. I was immediately blown away by how large the eagles were. They were beautiful with their white and brown feathers and bright yellow beaks. Their wing span is so long, up to seven feet. That is even taller than me! The eagle’s area had a low net that covered the entire exhibit. The exhibit looked a little like what their natural habitat could resemble. It was covered with dry grass and with a little vegetation. The eagles were sitting in a small wooden box perched on a log. I was wondering how the eagles could fly in such a low height and if it was even legal to have bald eagles on display at a zoo. Then I noticed there was a sign posted on a wooden frame that the eagles were injured and could not fly. Apparently, you can only have bald eagles in zoos if they are injured. I found the eagle exhibit to be quite disheartening because these powerful creatures should be out flying not just sitting on a post becoming indifferent.
Visiting The Lincoln’s Children Zoo had opened my eyes to how zoos are not always the best place for animals. While Zoos are fun to visit, there is a possibility that they are not beneficial to their animals. I understand that zoos are feeding the animals, keeping them away from the elements that would normally harm them in the wild, and have good medical care. The part that was bothering me was the lack of stimulants that the animals had. They are not soaring in the skies, roaming the plains, or swinging through the tress. Instead they are kept in these small confining spaces and become lazy, bored, and stressed. Animals have deep instincts that drive them to look for food, shelter or a mate, and to be on alert for predators. In a zoo, the setting never changes. Society needs to take a step back and take into consideration why zoos are there.