As I stated in my last blog post about our lab trip to the Lehigh Valley Zoo, I am not a very big fan of them, and don’t get much enjoyment out of them. Yet, my little cousins were in town and they really wanted to go to the San Francisco Zoo, so I was dragged there by my mom. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by my experience at the zoo. While I had thought the Lehigh valley zoo was kind of nice, the san Francisco zoo blew it out of the water. All of the animals seem to have nice areas in which to live, with plenty of space. They seemed happy, healthy and content. While it still did not compare to seeing animals in the wild, it was one of the first time
Visiting two really unique zoos reminded me of why I have such a dislike for zoos in the first place: the Vietnam Zoo. My junior year of high school I studied abroad in Hanoi, Vietnam. While there I lived with a host family. One day they got really excited and told me that we were going on a family trip to the local zoo. They kept talking about how amazing the animals were, and I could tell it was a huge treat for the whole family to be able to go there. I was excited to go with them, yet immediately upon arriving I felt incredibly uncomfortable. All of the animals were in cages that looked like jail cells. I have a very distinct memory of an incredibly underweight tiger in its pen. The floor was cement and the cell was only 8×8. People were throwing popcorn and food at it, hoping to get a reaction. I had to pretend to like the zoo all day out of respect for my host family, but my stomach was turning the entire time
After thinking about these three zoos I have realized that it is important to consider the merits of each individual zoo, not all zoos. Some zoos have huge spaces for animals to roam and do incredibly important conservation work, while others abuse the animals for human enjoyment.
It was interesting to read about your experience at the zoo in Vietnam, especially in comparison to an article I read the other day. The article draws a light to the conditions in a Japanese zoo, which sound similar to those you saw at this other zoo. There has been some recent outcry regarding an elephant who has been living alone in a small concrete enclosure for 68 years, which has been described as a prison. The elephant lacks comfort, stimulation, grass, or other elephants to interact with. She also suffers from various health issues after not being properly cared for, such as the loss of her teeth and digestive issues. This life of mistreatment has also caused violence on her part after a lack of exposure to other elephants and caretakers. It is a true shame to see such an incredible and intelligent creature locked away like this. People have even started a petition to seek better conditions for the elephant so she may enjoy the rest of her life.
https://www.thedodo.com/hanako-japan-elephant-61-years-1473985023.html