In general, I'm not really a fan of zoos. I rather want the animals to be in their wild, natural habitat instead of being locked-in and serving for human entertainment. Zoos will always argue that they help to preserve the planet's fauna and that due to their educational activities humans might better understand and appreciate the other living creatures.
Well, long story short, we decided to visit the
San Diego Zoo at New Year's. This zoo is well-known across the nation and some even say it is one of the most beautiful zoos in the U.S. What I like about this zoo is that its 40 ha area is indeed set up in a comparably natural looking way with many small trails meandering through various "themes", AKA different continents and their inhabitants. The "Northern Frontier" also educates about climate change, the effects of polar ice shrinkage on polar bears and what each of us can do to limit our carbon foot print. (Not sure though whether the latter part of this exhibit receives sufficient attention!)
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| Ursus maritimus shortly after he had lunch |
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| These two Mountain Lions also live near the "Polar Bear Plunge" |
"Elephant Odyssey" and "Urban Jungle" (Afrika)
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| Rhino's New Year's cleaning? |
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| White-breasted cormorants |
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| Allen's Swamp Monkey |
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| Homo Sapiens Sapiens and one of her favorite activities |
Inhabitants of the Outback, Asia, South America, India
This Koala reminded me of the stuffed animal I had as a kid. It is one of - I believe - nine inhabitants of "Koalafornia" which opened in May 2013. Each of the Koalas have their own home tree including three heaters. They were not easy to spot, hidden behind leaves and branches. According to the Australian Koala Foundation's
website that contains many more interesting facts about these nocturnal marsupials, they sleep up to 20 hours per day to preserve energy for better digesting their toxic, fibrous, low-nutrition diet.
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| Bactrian camel - not quite as handsome but certainly full of character |
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| Guanako - too much champagne for New Year's? |
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| Ganges-gavial crocodile, photo with courtesy of Guido |
Kurz vor'm Schlafen noch eine kurze Anmerkung in deutsch: Ich schmeiß mich gerade weg! Deine Kommentare sind einfach klasse! Danke für die tollen Fotos! Im San Diego Zoo waren wir auch gewesen. Toll, jetzt krieg ich wieder Fernweh - gute Nacht!
ReplyDeleteNa, Eure Hawaii Reise steht doch bereits fast vor der Tür!
DeleteJa, ich weiß. Darauf freuen wir uns schon wahnsinnig. Die Planung steht jetzt übrigens. Wollt ihr noch Mal darüber nachdenken?
DeleteKlasse! Weih uns doch mal in Eure Planung ein, auch wenn ich bezweifele, dass wir das hinkriegen. Naja, falls es im Mai mit dem Grand Canyon nicht klappt, dann vielleicht. ...
DeleteLovely pics, especially the nice capture of the Llama. They really make funny faces, don't they? Admittedly I am not a big fan of zoos, and still find the topic quite controversial, however I don't see a better option to get people educated about wildlife, animals and nature if they (for whatever reason) can't venture out to see for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Not everybody can travel to Afrika, the Arctic or other far away locations to see the animals in their natural habitat. Nor should there be too many people out there in my opinion as this also would disturb and threaten those wild living animals. Well, it is an ongoing discussion. At least there has been lots of progress made in terms of zoos modernizing and improving the terrain where they keep the animals.
DeleteGreat pictures. I see you tow are enjoying those new cameras.
ReplyDeleteI too am torn emotionally about zoos. While I like seeing the different animals, as a vegan I can't condone their capture or imprisonment. If they are wounded and cannot be released to the wild, I'd much rather see them in a wildlife sanctuary in their natural habitat/country.
Yes, there are endless discussions about pros and cons of zoos. The least convincing pro argument I read was "Zoos are a tradition" and another one I cannot follow at all is "Humans are more important than animals and if zoos serve any educational or entertaining purpose, we can ethically do it".
DeleteA different story are (wildlife) sanctuaries, I agree. Therefore we support the donkey sanctuary near Toronto. And a visit there a few years ago presented us with many donkeys and even ponies that had lots of room to roam and looked healthy and happy. Great place to visit and to support!
San Diego zoo is one of few zoos I like. But even there I noticed some negative things. When we visited this zoo in September a few years ago, it was already incredible hot in the morning hours. When we came to the polar bears, we saw them hanging out in the water the whole time, trying to stay cool. The polar bears were not the only animals which were unused to be in the California sun. Therefore I agree with Trobairitz and would rather see animals in zoos or sanctuaries that belong to the climate. Furthermore the busses: San Diego zoo is huge and not everyone is able to walk the distance. But why do I have to stand the stinkig exhaust gases in my throat while walking thru the park? How is it today? Did they switch to gas-, solar- or electric-powered busses? It is California, so it could be makeable.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the buses: they were on the street while we as pedestrians walked along the trails. I remember only a few spots where street and trail went parallel to each other and near by. I'm pretty sensitive to exhaust gases, too, but did not feel bothered. This does not answer the question how the buses are operated though.
ReplyDeleteIt also was a lot cooler when we were there, about 15C I would estimate. Still midsummer temperatures for polar bear for sure. The one we saw walked around a lot after eating and did not go into the water at all. The zoo itself states that polar bears might not seem to be at the right spot in sunny CA, but that the climate simply feels like an Arctic summer day to the bears, year-round. Unfortunately, we can't ask the bears directly.
Thank you for your quick answer.
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember that we only had a few spots where we came relatively close to the busses. But the smell bothered me a lot and I immediately had to think about the animals in these areas. We could walk away, they not. I agree that it is possible that the weather conditions made the difference.
I remember going to the SD zoo often when I was growing up. But haven't been there in quite a while. But the only way your average tourist can see some animals in their "natural habitat" is by people baiting them to draw them in near towns. Since I do a lot of work on the Arctic Slope, I frequently hear of tour operators baiting polar bears so they can bring van loads of tourists to see them. Possibly worse for the animals than the zoo environment as they become dependent on people and are killed as a "nuisance bear".
ReplyDeleteRight, this is what I meant when mentioning that there should not be too many humans invading the wild animals' living space. Sure, it is fascinating to see polar bears or grizzlies or other wild species in their natural habitat. However, it is ultimately to their disadvantage. Can we as humans (and considered a highly developed species) be expected to think that far ahead? We should but most of us don't. And as long as money can be made with this things won't change.
DeleteI have not been to a Zoo in probably a quarter of a century, so I cannot really add anything useful to this discussion, but I do love the photos, especially #2 with the Mountain Lions! Great light, great zoom, great eye!
ReplyDeleteYes, these are such beautiful cats. And I was lucky to have my camera ready when at least one of them woke up somewhat to open their eyes and to check the outside world for a brief moment.
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