To worry about lions and other dangerous animals escaping at the zoo?

[climbingquickly]

Around the lion enclosures there is an narrow raised walkway that gives you a better view as the top of enclosure is open. You enter walkway via metal gates, it's divided into several sections, each with a set of gates. On each gate is a sign: 'If animal in walkway area, do not enter and alert a member of staff' with a sort of stop-sign featuring a lion on the walkway!! AIBU to think this isn't very safe and means lions could jump out?

Also the rhinoceros kept charging at the fence as if to escape (only a shallow ditch in front of fence)...

Anyone else get nervous at these places?

Not an aye aye

If it were a loris I'd have caught it somehow and loved it and cuddled it and called it George ...
Not dissimilar to a glis glis but eyes all wrong!

CandyCloud it depends on the zoo. A zoo like the Durrell one in Jersey is run for the benefit of the animals, not the visitors, and does a great deal to protect animals in the wild by training up visiting conservationists, and my establishing captive breeding programmes for species which are on the brink of extinction.

There are species that wouldn't exist at all now if it weren't for Jersey Zoo. That's not nothing.

QOD if you cuddled a loris, you might end up in the hospital. They are the world's only venomous primate. They have toxic patches on their arms, which they mix with saliva and deliver by bite.

That cute video of the loris being tickled: it isn't enjoying the tickling, it's in a defensive position, displaying it's venomous arm-patches and getting ready to fight back.

A few years ago, we caravanned next door to Kessingland zoo. It was pretty cool, sitting out in the evening, hearing lions roar (which they do after eating).

When we went on a visit, I noticed with interest that the massive sliding metal gate to the rhino enclosure had a couple of very distinct dents in them (from the inside) ...

On safari in Kenya, many years ago, elephants wandered through our campsite at night. We never heard them (you never will, they can move silently). Just saw the massive watering hole they'd dug with their tusks (we were camped on the bend of a dried river bed).

On the same safari, we were warned that when we were out during the day, monkeys (Vervets ?) would try and get into our tents, and that it was no use trying to tie the flaps shut, as (I loved the language) "Mr. Monkey, he sit and watch and think and undo the rope".

Not sure if I'd be so worried about wolves escaping - I quite like the idea of them roaming wild - are there many attacks on humans where they are wild ?

Not sure if I'd be so worried about wolves escaping - I quite like the idea of them roaming wild - are there many attacks on humans where they are wild ?

No, at least not in North America or Europe. According to Wikipedia, "In the half-century up to 2002, there were eight fatal attacks in Europe and Russia, three in North America". The risk is even lower if there's no possibility that the wolves are rabid (as I would expect if a wolf escaped from a zoo in the UK).

My parents used to go to occasional 'posh' functions at the mansion house in the centre of Edinburgh Zoo. My mother said she was always scared of the noises as they drove up through the zoo to reach the house - she made dad promise that, if they broke down, he wasn't to get out the car but just to wait until someone else cam along .

DH and I nearly got married at the zoo, and I really really wish we had.

It was the noise of the wolves howling at the moon .... shudder

And Archery Annie but but but the Loris looks so cute!

hackmum Your close encounter with a goose sounds terrifying and I am much more scared when I have to walk past geese or swans than I am at a zoo.

Mind you I do have a zoo close encounter story that happened at a French zoo about 10 years ago. The walking route through the zoo took you right through the vulture enclosure and we were there just before they started the "feeding time for the vultures" demonstration.

DD and I had a front row seat. Unfortunately, while waiting for the feeding to start one of the vultures started to take too close an interest in me. It suddenly lunged for my map, took a bite out of it and then started to peck my feet. DD disappeared and hid behind DH and I tried to be all British stiff upper lip so as not to entertain the other visitors who would presumably have been highly amused to see English woman having hysterics!

Fortunately their keeper noticed my plight and came and chased it away. DH was a tower of strength. He stayed in his seat and took a photograph of it all.

Not even sure why I agreed to be there actually as I have always been a bit nervous around birds.

As I understand it, the problems where wolves live wild in North America mostly have to do with wolves attacking livestock or pets, not people. If there were a substantial wild wolf population, I wouldn't be surprised if they got into people's garbage sometimes, the way the fairly closely related coyotes do in North America. Coyotes do tend to live in areas where humans do, even in urban areas (they've been seen in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco), and they generally don't attack people. They do kill the occasional pet or stray cat, and they are a problem for people with livestock. Coyotes are so closely related to some kinds of North American wolves that they can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

I did one of those big cat experiences at Woburn Safari, it was amazing! We were face to face with the lions (in their cage) feeding them raw meat, it was breathtaking to be that close to such a powerful animal.

I think the Cubs were more scary though when we fed them as they were so frisky!

I never understand why they keep predators like lions next to and in sight of prey like zebras and antelope. Seems unfair on both parties.

Anyone who has been to Singapore Zoo (a model of how zoos should be, if they must be) will have marvelled at the immense orangutan enclosure. Many will have also noticed that the enclosure is actually split into two parts. Joined together by a massive overhead escape apparatus enrichment zone.

I can't quite convey the shock of walking under the escape apparatus enrichment zone and having an adult orangutan drop down in front of you.

They call it a "free ranging zone" but fuck me.

Anyway, the orangutan bumbled about for a couple of minutes (while we all stood around in first-fascination then second-mild horror at the head-ripping-off potential) until its keeper came out and led it off holding hands. Cue many "aww"s.

I once was wanked on by a monkey at Bristol zoo. I was very naive and on a first date, I thought he was doing a wee!

Wolves are incredibly wary of people, geeky and as pack animals they wouldn't raid garbage. Coyotes are not pack animals, and similarly to foxes, will scavenge other animals kills or garbage for food. Wolves enjoy the act of hunting as a group. It's how they bond and maintain hierarchy. They have wide territories away from people. They will move territories if people begin to infringe on them. They only go after cattle and livestock when food is incredibly scarce. They are mostly found in areas with a mix of habitat, some woodland, some open grassland and some mountain range/hills as they like to congregate up on ridges and survey their kingdoms. It's very very very unlikely they would ever adapt to urban living or need to with the vast areas of unpopulated land in the US esp in the North.

I was peed on - by a tapir at Whipsnade - OMG it stunk.

And I met a bear in a Canadian hospital - actually in a corridor, IT WALKED INTO THE ACTUAL HOSPITAL, can you guess what my every nightmare has been about since that day!!!!!!!!!

• and found my fight or flight response was stand still and whimper quietly - though I came out of it better than the bear, who walked on through and was shot dead by marksmen.

It had not escaped from a zoo - (I asked) It was "just a regular bear". I have not returned to Canada since.

So no, I don't worry about animals escaping from the zoo - they have cages and gates and keepers etc

Somewhere I know Canada well, and still my first thought was that the bear was in for treatment....

Poor bear. It had probably been fed by a well-meaning person at some point, and thus associated humans with food (not like that). That's why you should never feed bears, as it isn't fair on the bears.

"my first thought was that the bear was in for treatment...."

that made me proper laugh out loud - with a snort and everything!!

though you are right, the poor bear wasn't to know....

Some animals that are afraid of people become habituated to people. It's happened at least once with wolves, the result was dogs. It's happened with some black bears here in the US. It's often a problem- a wild animal that loses its fear of humans is more likely to have encounters with humans. Those encounters often end badly for the animal, which is one reason why they tell you not to feed wild animals. There's an expression here about bears in areas where humans are, "a fed bear is a dead bear".

As an ex keeper I can tell you now that you're perfectly safe. In the unlikely event a dangerous animal escaped there are stun guns located within zoos that would tranquilise them within seconds. I for one am a crack shot

In the unlikely event a dangerous animal escaped there are stun guns located within zoos that would tranquilise them within seconds. I for one am a crack shot

I guess there are insurance/PR reasons why you can't shoot idiots like the one limitedperiodonly mentioned who was taunting the monkey? Too bad.

Fraid not!

Years and years ago I had a boyfriend who had a holiday job at a wildlife park, and I used to go and stay sometimes.

It was really nice to wander around after hours and look at the animals, but the sound the Panther made always sounded incredibly close, even if you were at the opposite end of the park he sounded like he was right behind you. I kept having to turn around to check, although I'm not sure what I would have done if it had actually been there!

I was on a campsite near an animal park their was thunder and lightening scared chimps the screams from them scared me shitless i was awake all night thinking they are going to escape and kill us all , the chances of a lion wandering out of a zoo is zero but the thought that a lion could kill you is scary .

Lorises are like cute assasins they are all cute and wide eyed but venomous, there is a huge illegal pet trade in them

A lion would leave you alone as long as it wasn't hungry and didn't feel threatened. It's the cute, cuddly chimps you need to worry about.