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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

For crying at the Gorilla display at ZSL today?

58 replies

Waltonswatcher1 · 14/06/2014 20:45

It really overwhelmed me . They were in the inside enclosure with no privacy . The viewing gallery was rammed with us all staring and commenting .
I just can't see how its fair to the animals . At Whipsnade the chimpanzees seem equally as uncomfortable .
I have only recently become a ZSL member - the conservation work is so necessary and the zoo visits fund it .
Am I being unreasonable in thinking that lots of primate enclosures should not be open to visitors ?
My 11 Ds was equally dismayed , we felt all the other animals we saw were unaffected by our presence .

OP posts:
Mrsjayy · 14/06/2014 20:59

Do they not have an outside enclosure im sorry that had upset you goriilas are very sensitive souls I guess if they were distressed it would show, they will be used to peole I havnt been what upset you was it becUse you felt you werd gawping at them yanbu to cry you feel how you feel

Mrsjayy · 14/06/2014 21:01

Tyoos sorry

Objection · 14/06/2014 21:02

YANBU but there are worse conditions and X do A LOT for the stimulation and welfare of their animals.
I did Zookeeper for a day with them in Jan and they truly go above and beyond for them

Original poster
Waltonswatcher1 · 14/06/2014 21:05

It just seems too much .
There was an information notice that said gorillas never stare - its considered rude , they barely glance at each other.
I despair that the only way to educate us about the precarious position these animals are in, is to use a handful as exhibits . Surely by 2014 we should have come further than this ?

OP posts:
Mrsjayy · 14/06/2014 21:07

I saw a programme about the 2 zoos they do seem to understand their primates needs I guess gorillas are so like us iyswkim that it can pull on the heart a wee bit, twycross have a huge viewing window their gorillas dont seem bothered by people in fact they have a toddler and he loves showing off,

Mrsjayy · 14/06/2014 21:08

Gorrilas are brutaly murdered in the wild love they are safer where they are imo ,

libertytrainers · 14/06/2014 21:10

i watched the most heartbreaking documentary about an orangutang who used sign language chantek. it's so sad, they are so clever

\link{http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2558715/A-tear-jerking-new-documentary-tells-orangutan-raised-human-unique-experiment-ultimately-victim-intelligence.html\daily mail link}!

BigPawsBrown · 14/06/2014 21:10

Just because other humans murder gorillas in the wild doesn't make the humans who lock them in zoos nice Hmm

YANBU

Objection · 14/06/2014 21:12

OP, there are lots of animals kept away from the public in separate facilities from ZSL - those who are too fragile or who can't cope with it through their personalities etc.

If the gorillas were suffering due to their environment then they would move them. Honestly, they would.

GatoradeMeBitch · 14/06/2014 21:13

The problem I suppose is that if they had a private living area, they'd choose to be there and the people who had paid to see them might not get to see them!

Objection · 14/06/2014 21:15

Bigpawsbrown - zoos like the one run by ZSL are there to fund their welfare and conservation programme. It's all a charity. Without the zoo, they wouldn't be able to do so much of the good they do.

They really do put the animals welfare first. I would encourage anyone who is an animal lover to do their zookeeper thing (though it's expensive, I got mine and my mum's from Groupon) as you get to see everything behind the scenes.

They aren't like the zoos in China, for example, where they lock animals in tiny cages for profit and entertainment.

Mrsjayy · 14/06/2014 21:17

I truly believe they would move them too they know their animals, I get it upset you they shouldnt really be there but they are there,

Mrsjayy · 14/06/2014 21:19

Im not going tobget into any discussions about the bad cruel zookeeper s so you can keep your face to yourself

Original poster
Waltonswatcher1 · 14/06/2014 21:20

It's a toughie . I'd gladly pay to not see them .
I hadn't thought of the animals kept from our sight , that does relieve me slightly .
I think I'd prefer it if an employee was present at all times and insisted on silence . Like in NT houses infact . People respectfully meander from room to room with an awareness of presence ( weird description soz!) .
Why can't we do the same with these awesome animals ? It would show more respect - the gawping , shouting , clambering rabble today were a disgrace .

OP posts:
Mrsjayy · 14/06/2014 21:21

Most zoos let their animals come and go theey are not locked out

RandomMess · 14/06/2014 21:22

I know at chessington there are two families, so they rotate between the pens - only one has a viewing area the other one is completely out of view.

Mrsjayy · 14/06/2014 21:23

You are right folk have no respect sometimes its awful maybe now you are a member you could email them about it

BuildYourOwnSnowman · 14/06/2014 21:23

We were there a few weeks back. One of the gorillas did a poo in its hand, studied it an then are it. Our kids have talked about little else since!

I was under the impression they had a private area because I have been before and one has not been 'visible'. The outside area is also quite big with some privacy

Original poster
Waltonswatcher1 · 14/06/2014 21:24

I am sure the keepers are fab and they work hard to keep their charges well .
We - the spectators are the issue .

OP posts:
Objection · 14/06/2014 21:24

Im not going tobget into any discussions about the bad cruel zookeeper s so you can keep your face to yourself
Was this aimed at me? Because I really don't understand what you're trying to say?

Eve · 14/06/2014 21:26

One zoo, ii think it was Belfast zoo ( haven't been for a while). Had camouflage netting over their gorilla area so you had to peer closely to see the gorillas a and they couldn't see you.

It London zoo at Easter the big male kept running at the glass and beating it... Was a bit upsetting.

Mrsjayy · 14/06/2014 21:26

I told a guy off at bush gardens I florida for shouting at the gorrila my husband walked away as I got stuck in about how would he like it if a stranger shouted st him in his garden, he scuttled off probably thinkinv I was a loon

BeeBlanket · 14/06/2014 21:26

I have done some work with ZSL re their gorillas – they do look after them very well and they do care about them. Zoos in the UK very often do give animals the option of privacy (hence why at our nearest zoo, you often don't see many of them!) which suggests if they needed it, they would have it. It may even be that they do but it wasn't obvious to you how it was arranged.

However YANBU to find it upsetting and there is an ongoing argument that the great apes should have the same treatment/rights as humans. It is difficult to know exactly what they would prefer though, because of the communication difficulties (albeit some can use signs). But I do know they are treated as individuals and their needs are taken seriously.

Objection · 14/06/2014 21:26

OP - I completely agree but unfortunately I imagine that funding prevents them having staff there all the time.
People are the issue thoigh, not many people are conscientious enough to understand that the animals aren't there solely for their entertainment and that they are real and have flings.

BigPawsBrown · 14/06/2014 21:28

Animals would be better off not in cages in a zoo, no matter how big the cages. I understand that a zoo makes its money for conservation via the zoo exhibitions but I still think a lion with 20mX20m is miserable.