Favorite animal in the zoo

Name the animal in a zoo... your Favorite

Douc Langurs are large monkeys from Viet Nam and China, with beautiful colors and expressive faces. The San Diego Zoo used to have their exhibit right near the front of the park, but sort of tucked away where the masses didn't usually flow. I always felt it was my own private spot.

lesser panda

elephant

Tiger

I dont like caging anyone. I don't like zoos for that reason.

I have always liked the North American River Otter.

I recently visited a stingray exhibit where you can feed and pet them. It was amazing.

Maneesh Godbole wrote:I dont like caging anyone.

What kind of zoos have you been to???

Joe Ess wrote:What kind of zoos have you been to???

@Bear
LOL

@Joe
I was talking literally as well as metaphorically. I know this is MD but thats something which I really feel strongly about.

Tree kangaroos. Super slow and cute. Very funny.

Maneesh Godbole wrote:@Bear
LOL

@Joe
I was talking literally as well as metaphorically. I know this is MD but thats something which I really feel strongly about.

You do realize that, at least here in the states, the animals that are in the zoo can't survive in the wild for one reason or another.

My wife took this picture at the zoo in Norfolk over the weekend. Very deadly!

Gregg Bolinger wrote:
You do realize that, at least here in the states, the animals that are in the zoo can't survive in the wild for one reason or another.

Why is that?

Maneesh Godbole wrote:

Gregg Bolinger wrote:
You do realize that, at least here in the states, the animals that are in the zoo can't survive in the wild for one reason or another.

Why is that?

A lot of these animals are rescued in some way or another. Zoo keepers don't just go to Africa, find a perfectly good Lion and decide to bring it back to their Zoo. And chances are at this point that most of bread in captivity, which is why you can't really release them in the wild. They have no survival skills. So it would be more cruel to do so, than to keep them protected in the Zoo.

Are zoos good or bad for animals?

Still, it seems a bit extreme to assert that all animals in zoos are unable to survive in the wild. Really? Next you'll be telling be that animals who lived on an ark could never survive in the wild...

I think this is a circular logic which I personally find very cruel.

"Rescue" an animal.
Put it in a cage.
Let it breed.
Oops! The new generation cannot survive in the wild.
Put them in a cage.
Repeat.

If I was personally "rescued" and put in a cage for life, I am confident I would rather not be rescued.

Maneesh Godbole wrote:If I was personally "rescued" and put in a cage for life, I am confident I would rather not be rescued.

OK, fine.

But let's say you had descendants, raised in captivity. And let's say your original captors had descendants, who were now reconsidering and questioning the wisdom of the choices of previous generations.

Should your descendants remain in cages for the rest of their lives?

Should they be released into the wild immediately, with no experience in the wild?

Or should we maybe find another alternative?

Or maybe switch the current cager and cagees?
Is that OK and fine?

Maneesh Godbole wrote:Or maybe switch the current cager and cagees?
Is that OK and fine?

I have strong feelings about how animals are treated too. But that discussion probably needs another thread. Just name your favorite animal in this one.

If it helps, name one that is not necessarily caged. Like those white tigers that I saw in the Singapore zoo. They were not caged and had a small habitat of sorts.