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Staying home in quarantine with your loved ones feels like living in a zoo now and then. Nobody said it’d be easy. Meanwhile, the real zoos out there have closed their doors to visitors. And that means that porcupines, cheetahs, rhinos, and all the bestest boys and girls are having no proper social life.
Are they going mad just like we are? Someone on Reddit was wondering, so they asked zookeepers: "how are the animals acting differently now that there are no visitors to the zoo?" The inquiry posted on r/AskReddit was upvoted 73.5K times, proving it's something people are genuinely interested in. Let’s see what the zoo workers have to say right below.
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#1
I work with a lot of geriatric animals at the zoo so it's not surprising that they have become a lot more relaxed since we closed to the public. Ex. Our artic fox spends a lot more of his time basking in the sun instead of spending time in his back holding area trying to avoid screaming children...
Control your children at the zoo please...
Full Name 5 years ago
I cannot express how often I want to slap parents upside the head.
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Mascha Claessens 5 years ago
Haha, last time I visited the zoo, I remember seeing someone eating a waffle in front of the arctic foxes. One summery, brown cute fox sits right in front of this person, head tilted... just a little dog. :P
K. 5 years ago
Can we give parents the safe space, at the very least for this article to explain their challenges in keeping their children educated/ stimulated? What can we do to help you guys? Don’t act like an entitled parent, or that you’re being targeted/picked on when we offer help. What do you guys need? What can we do to make it more enjoyable for you and your family?
Enea 5 years ago
...You're saying to parents who have kept their kids in lockdown for 5 weeks or more. Hm, why do I have challenges keeping my kids stimulated while working full-time? Why? Oh why? But excellent job on the empathy, with using the concept of safe space and what not.
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Enea 5 years ago
I'm pretty sure that 90 percent of those morons now bitching about how terrible parents and children in general are (e-very time, Bored Panda, why?!) haven't been to a zoo since they were kids themselves. Actually, zoos are pretty civilised places with a didactic dramaturgy that directs children's attention.
RELATED:
#2
One of our emus loves everyone and makes friends with any new keepers who visit him, and so by extension loves having guests around. With the zoo being closed, he became quite morose for a few days, not acting anything like his usually happy self, because all the new friends he makes everyday were gone. So his keepers began asking people from other departments to stop by, take pictures, point him out, basically act like he's the center of attention. The hilarious little diva has been loving it
Kat Rogers 5 years ago
OMG~ HOW CUTE, FUNNY AAAND SWEET! I JUST NEVER REALLY THOUGHT THEY'D MISS ALL THE PEOPLE AND THE NOISE. POOR SWEETIES!
Barbara Vandewalle 5 years ago
A family in my subdivision has Emu. Loves to walk around the property line.
Margarita Fletes 5 years ago
Poor babies! They need more of their own kind! They're practically in prison, ALWAYS!
#3
Our city zoo is closed for visitors. However all the routine feeding activities are in place. Looks like some animals found it weird that there are no people around. The other day a fully grown white tiger started jumping like a puppy when he saw a few of us after two weeks of solitude.. that was a scene!
Captain Marvellous ♥️ 5 years ago
To all the people in the comments saying this creature is beautiful...I suggest you go to Youtube and watch "White Tigers Aren't Supposed To Exist." While the creature does admittedly look quite ethereal at first glance, doing a little more research gives you a whole new perspective on them. Every single white tiger in existence struggles with birth defects due to the appalling scale on incest that they get their colouring from. There's a lot more to it, please look into it and raise awareness.
Bored Panda contacted Rebecca Blanchard, the media manager at Zoological Society of London, to find out how life in London Zoo looks different now during the quarantine. The ZSL London Zoo closed to the public on 21 March for the first time since World War Two. The staff is now sending packages of perishable food from its Terrace Restaurant to nearby hospitals, and its car park is now open to NHS workers.
Rebecca explained that zookeepers aren’t able to work from home: “our 18,000 animals all need feeding and looking after every single day, no matter what’s happening in the rest of the world.” The staff is now cycling to work and live in the repurposed Zoo lodges, which have previously been home to visitors experiencing an overnight stay at the Zoo.
#4
Our pandas are finally banging.
Kat Rogers 5 years ago
LOL! THEY SAY TOO MUCH STRESS CAN CAUSE INFERTILITY, SOOO MAAYBEE NOOOW SOME REEEAL ACTION CAN OCCUR?!
Rhiannon C 5 years ago
Went to the zoo a month a two ago, before the whole thing was too bad, but there wasn't many people and some camels started... having fun
Dutch VanZandt 5 years ago (edited)
I'm sure the lack of stress has improved the panda's lives in general so that makes them likely to enjoy each other's company more as well as allowing them to follow their mating instincts.
Kylie Stovall 5 years ago
awwww baby pandas are cute, but make sure they are properly cared for and not STRESSED
#5
I'm an aquarium keeper, and I've certainly noticed a change. Fish are not as stressed as they use to be, as there are no longer children stomping around and banging on glass screaming "NEMO, NEMO, ITS NEMO" at every clownfish. We brought some of our younger penguins down to let them watch the fish, and they were intrigued but confused as to why they couldn't catch them through the glass. Our octopus has become much more friendly as well, and instead of hiding all day from people, enjoys playing with small baby toys or solving food puzzles. Its been nice. I wish there were guidelines people had to sign to behave at zoos before entering, but at the same time, they are the lifeline we so desperately need to keep functioning.
EHops 5 years ago
Life line or not it should be top priority to make sure the animals under our care after properly cared for.
elfin 5 years ago
True, but having enough money to take care of them is a requirement. Or just leave them in the wild, of course.
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Kimberly Herbert 5 years ago
As a guest, I've told off adults for banging on the aquariums. I point out the sound can pass through the denser water with more force than through the air. With kids, I simply ask them if they would like it if a giant banged on their bedroom windows. Kids are always shamefaced and stop. Adults are about 80% ashamed and 20% rolling their eyes. WIth the kids from my family they know they get 1 screw up then we are out of there with them being scolded the whole walk of shame. They don't abuse the animals.
K. 5 years ago
We should have guidelines reiterated, on the websites and media platforms of museums/zoos/aquariums on how to behave. Don’t feel that you’re too much by spreading this information and maintaining this knowledge. Yes, you need visitors but educating us on how to behave is not an obnoxious request. Some animals like attention like the emu and some don’t.
Lisa Shelton 5 years ago
Why can't they make the tanks with one way glass so that the sea creatures inside can't see the folks walking around and watching them?
Lucas 5 years ago
And not within arms reach so that no-one can bang on the glass.
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Jaybird3939 5 years ago
Why does the public need to be close enough to the glass to bang on it? Maybe some kind of nice looking barrier might be in order. Adults sometimes will completely lose their capability to hear/see their child getting in to trouble. It'd be nice if they understood they were upsetting the animals, but, nope.
Christina Uhlir 5 years ago
It would be nice if children were told not to upset animals and shown the proper behavior.
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Calypso poet 5 years ago
It’s not just children. I had to stop my 60something mom from banging on the glass on an exhibit. No, she is not senile, just an a*****e sometimes. My husband and I don’t have kids...
Cynthia Earle 5 years ago
So knowing the stress is so awful the animals hide and don't participate in their normal activities like laying in the sun or playing with toys it's perfectly OK for you to restart their torture without any further consideration. How disturbing this is.
#6
Our gorillas miss the people watching so they get a tv with movies set up for them, plus lots of extra enrichment
Kay Sexton 5 years ago
looks like the Ellen Degeneres show. i think that's Ellen next to Chewbacca. her show set is blue like the background.
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Kylie Stovall 5 years ago
at least some zooz know what to do unlike other zooz that leave animals stressed just to keep money coming
The London Zoo staff is working hard to make sure life is as normal as possible for the animals and their routines are maintained. “Like always, Zookeepers have been dedicating their time to caring for the animals—feeding, cleaning, carrying out daily training,” said Rebecca.
The zookeepers need to think up fun and creative new activities to keep animals stimulated. And some animals even get a chance to have a stroll outside the Zoo! “Where safely possible, we take animals like the llamas and Bactrian camels on their walks around the Zoo.”
#7
Due to temporary staff cuts, they no longer have the people to regularly walk the wombats. Some of the wombats are holding the keepers personally responsible. Imagine having a 20 kg chunk of muscle with big rodent teeth mad at you.
#8
A lot of the animals have noticed! We compare it to having 300 channels of cable TV to suddenly 10 channels. The apes, cats, and birds probably notice the most and get excited when any of us walk by. We actually have our firm instructions to take a regular walk around our big cat area because one of the snow leopards is sad from the lack of people calling him handsome daily.
Lou Lopez 5 years ago
People really misunderstand how captive animals can enjoy the company and observations of humans. Even animals that are solitary predators can become attached to people (which doesn't mean you'll be safe from prey-drive, do NOT get a large cat) and find attention to be a comforting part of their routine.
Christina Uhlir 5 years ago
The question is: do they really enjoy to live in captivity? Maybe instinctively they want to be free.
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Puji Widiasih 5 years ago
you're handsome. you're handsome. you're handsome. and you are too handsome. guess what? everyone is HANDSOME! yaaay!
#9
For a lot of our animals, having the ability to interact with guests is actually extremely important. Even for primates to be able to play with kids through the glass, they are missing out on a lot of enrichment. Guests keep a lot of the monkeys entertained. I watch our guests all day long show our marmosets and capuchins selfie cameras and they LOVE to see their reflection. Guests will also show videos on their phones to animals and the monkeys totally enjoy it.
We have a rescue cockatoo named Row who sings “row row row your boat” to guests. When little kids dance and sing it to her, she gets really excited and feeds off their energy. So do our other cockatoos on exhibit. But now without guests to show off for, every now and then when it’s quiet we’ll hear her start “row row row...” and then she stop and huffs a bit and gets really quiet and sad because she has no one to sing to. Some of our animals REALLY miss having kids to show off for.
You also have to remember that animals in zoos for the most park have grown up totally accustomed to being around people 24/7. They’re not wild animals at all really. They’ve grown up in a very different social dynamic. Quite a few animals get noticeably depressed in the winter months every year when we have few guests, and then perk up in the spring when we get busy.
Full Name 5 years ago
Zoos are not the evil places they once were at all, and so many of these animals are rescues and couldn't be released into the wild. That's great that some of them enjoy the visitors.
K. 5 years ago (edited)
Thank you for sharing this sweet sentiment. I will try to learn more about the places I (plan to) visit, and share whenever I can. Some animals can’t be released into the wild, and we need to remember that before denouncing any facility that takes care of them. We should consciously support ethical businesses and sanctuaries.
Load More Replies... Kat Rogers 5 years ago
AWWW, THAT'S SOOO HEARTBREAKING! I REALLY HOPE THAT THE POOR, SWEET ANIMALS GET SOME VISITORS SOON!
Allan Breum 5 years ago
"Guests keep a lot of the monkeys entertained." That is kinda hillarious, when you think about it.
Margarita Fletes 5 years ago
People are fascinated with animals but don't realize what must be for them being trapped in a place where they have very little of their usual habitat! They're social animals and like to hang out with their own and being able to go wherever they please.
Hello Dolly 5 years ago
Please place a video cam in front of the animals my son and I will video chat, the animals will be happy and my mil would thank you for giving her a break from us video calling her!
Holly King 5 years ago
Set up a c.d with kids singing row row your boat. or dvd so they can see kids singing with them??
#10
I’m on day 25 of working at a closed zoo. I work with great apes, and their behavior has changed a bit. They are generally very interactive with the public, so they are seeking even more attention than usual from us. Some of them were suspicious at first of the overwhelming silence outside now. They were climbing up high and scanning the area looking for everyone. We are in a much larger park, and wild animals wander in all the time, but always scatter when the crowds roll in. Now, there’s bucks just walking around, raccoons and foxes out in the middle of the day. And the squirrels... my god, the squirrels.
Rhiannon C 5 years ago
I was very sad to discover a dead squirrel at the zoo about a year ago. He was near a path and bloody, it seems as though a visitor killed him. The squirrels deserve to be happy
Kat Rogers 5 years ago
THE SQUIRRELS... 😆` I LOVE THOSE LITTLE FLUFF BALLS... SURE ARE A LOT OF THEM, HUH.
ChickyChicky 5 years ago
What a visual--great apes climbing up high looking for where everyone has gone. :(
Holly King 5 years ago
Squirrels are cute and annoying here!!! Raccoons may be ones digging up new tree transplants.
Laidin Stoned 5 years ago
"The squirrels... my God, the squirrels." Needs "Morty - buuuuuurp" at the end of that sentence #Rick&Morty
#11
I work with the ambassador animals, so they are animals that are very used to the public. Pretty much like what everyone else has said, the animals are mostly confused that there aren't any people. Our petting zoo animals in particular are super needy. The second they see or hear us they all come running over and start crying for attention. We're trying to give all the animals as much attention as possible, but we're down to a bare bones crew, so it's not as much as we would like.
What I wanted to add, though, because I think it's incredibly interesting, is that we are collecting fecal samples from some of the animals to be tested for cortisol levels, which is a pretty good indicator of stress levels. That way, when guests come back, we can take samples for comparison to see how much guests impact stress.
I think its really cool that we're taking this opportunity to see what we can learn about how guests impact the animals, and to see if there are potentially things we can do even better to improve the lives of the animals in our care. We were really hoping to do some behavioral studies too about things like activity levels, amount of the enclosure being utilized, etc. that are also important considerations for their welfare, but unfortunately we just don't have the time or staffing.
Tristan Wilson 5 years ago
It's sad to hear that u won't have the man power u need to do the behavioral studies. When there are so many who are quarantined at home and want to volunteer their time to help!
Catherine Brady 5 years ago
If you have any doubts about zoo staff's dedication and caring, tune in to Animal Planet on Saturday's to follow behind the scenes at the Bronx and other zoos. Their hearts are invested as well as their minds. So much caring. Thank you to these wonderful humans.
Margarita Fletes 5 years ago
Animals shouldn't be isolated from their own and being kept in confinement!
Walkus-Andrew Andrea 5 years ago
My heart breaks for them :( They need us as much as we need them ♥
Kat Rogers 5 years ago
IT'S SO WONDERFUL THAT THE CARETAKERS OF ALL OF THESE AMAZING ANIMALS ARE REALLY VERY INTERESTED IN THEIR WELLBEING THESE DAYS... ZOOS AREN'T SO MUCH OF ANIMAL PRISONS AS MUCH NOW.
Susan L. Miller 5 years ago
Hope these animals will be monitored carefully when the crowds are back!
Esther Luttrell 5 years ago
I would love to stay informed about what you learn from your studies. How may I stay in contact? My email address is estherwrites@aol.com.
Lara Verne 5 years ago
Picture above remind me of zebras in local zoo. They like when people pet them
#12
I don’t work at a zoo, but the horse farm I manage the horses won’t leave me alone while I’m in their pastures. Normally they’ll come up to say hi and get a nose kiss, but now I can’t get anything done cause they want all of my attention.
Susan 5 years ago
A Blessing BY JAMES WRIGHT Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota, Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass. And the eyes of those two Indian ponies Darken with kindness. They have come gladly out of the willows To welcome my friend and me. We step over the barbed wire into the pasture Where they have been grazing all day, alone. They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness That we have come. They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other. There is no loneliness like theirs. At home once more, They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness. I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms, For she has walked over to me And nuzzled my left hand. She is black and white, Her mane falls wild on her forehead, And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist. Suddenly I realize That if I stepped out of my body I would break Into blossom.
#13
At my zoo, the capuchins can't have bamboo sticks because they stab it through the bars at guests. Guess who is now free to stab as much as they want now?
John Seychel 5 years ago
Those dam primates wanting to poke everyone with a stick. Sounds familiar!
Kat Rogers 5 years ago
DOES NOT SEND A VERY POSITIVE MESSAGE TO YOUR VISITORS WHEN YOU TRY TO STAAAB THEM! 😆
Zhaoheng Liu 5 years ago
make a website where we can see the animals and set up a screen so the animals can see us just don't let them stab the screen
#14
Bird keeper here: the penguins weren’t sure it was really feeding time if no one was watching them... they’re a little bit exhibitionists. (Especially Hubig/Ocio. They’ve been caught going at it in front of the windows during public hours and then basically avoiding each other when we’re closed...) After a few days they adjusted.
However the parrots are demanding alllll the snuggles and attention, but heaven forbid one sees you snuggle someone else even if they JUST had their turn. So the macaws get to go on individual walks and get snuggles elsewhere so my ears don’t start bleeding from the screaming.
Felicia Dale 5 years ago
I've been wondering about the birds especially parrots, and how they were adjusting. That's so funny about the penguins though. The more I read about them the more complex and social they seem. So cool!
AzKhaleesi 5 years ago
yes my parrots are the same. God forbid if you give them all kids of lovins and then go on to another. geeze. lol
Kat Rogers 5 years ago
YEP~ PARROTS/MACAWS SCREAMING COULD BE A TACTIC OF PRISONER INTERROGATION... THAT'LL MAKE EM TALK!
#15
The wolves don't really have any change in behavior, they get enough interaction from us handlers when we take them for walks or brush them or sit in their enclosure to chill. Hopefully we can get private tours up and running soon so we can have a steady flow of donations. It goes to the good boys and girls.
earringnut 5 years ago
How does one become a wolf brusher. Asking for a friend.
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Kylie Stovall 5 years ago
i'm a 11 yr old and for my entire life i've wanted to work with animals in zooz another thing is i get to go to the zoo every spring b cuz thats my bithday so thats when most baby animals are born
Holly King 5 years ago
Guess they love to be brushed!! A private tour sounds like a delight!!!!!
#16
I work at a very well known and heavily visited zoo. I work with ambassador animals and it’s nice to get a chance to take animals to areas of the zoo they wouldn’t normally get a chance to go to because of traffic etc. BUT, the free ranging geese man.... they are getting mean and territorial. Literal bridge trolls. They might have the hardest time adjusting when all the people come back and they can’t control every pathway!
Pretty Pangolin 5 years ago
Has he been plucking out his chest feathers, or is it just a normal thing?
Hello Dolly 5 years ago
The zoo here has a lot of geese. 100% this. They are very entitled creatures especially when it comes to food. My kids are terrified of them. Should be interesting when we go back....
#17
Horse trainer/Barn manager here. My farm has 46 horses, about half are privately owned and boarded with us. Like most farms across the country we are completely shut down to all but essential staff. The horses are mostly pretty happy to eat, hang out, and do horse things. We keep our horses turned out 24/7, which helps them remain healthy, happy, moving, and socializing. They are starting to lose muscling at this point, with being worked/ridden. Months or years of conditioning just disappearing by the day. But it will come back once they are all in work again. But I can tell that they are missing human interaction. My personal riding horse was giving me the cold shoulder yesterday, probably because of the lack of attention. I have been trying to give the boarded horses extra attention, I am sure their owners are missing them terribly right now. They all seem to lean in a little more when I brush them these days.
Fran Stateler 5 years ago
It's too bad they couldn't have spaced apart visiting time for their owners
SirPatTheCat 5 years ago
Fortunately where I am I have been able to continue with my lessons because it's considered far enough away (I guess since you can't really get that close to each other anyways with them) but I really feel so bad for those who can't. Like this person said, it's a lot of lost progress not only with time but the training and muscle stuff declining because of the lack of practice
#18
Depends on the species and even the individual animal. The kangaroos and wallabies who live in our walkthrough enclosure are loving the free roaming throughout the day and not having to stay off the paths, this is making finding them more difficult as they are moving away from there "normal" rest spots. This goes for all animals in interactive enclosures actually. Some of the birds are missing the attention. The wild ravens and seagulls are a bit upset about the lack of easy to steal food. The elephants are enjoying being able to come out for walks at anytime during the day as opposed to in the morning before opening.
Full Name 5 years ago
Never thought about the seagulls. Yeah, with empty beaches many of them are going to have to make some serious adjustments.
Zuila 5 years ago
I wonder if their numbers will decrease due to lesser food resources.
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J. M. Montes 5 years ago
You think the ravens and seagulls have it bad? Poor pigeons don't have anyone to poop on.
Kat Rogers 5 years ago
AWWW, I JUST 💘 🐘S... I'D JUST ABOUT DIE IF I EVER GOT TO MEET ONE IN PERSON~ ALL UP CLOSE AND PURRSONAL LIKE!
Salomey Doku Art 5 years ago
I live inland in the UK and seagulls have started to come into our city, its weird for us having never seen seagulls in the city before usually they're at the beaches but since there's no tourists guess they're migrating to where they think the food is!
K. 5 years ago
We can’t force animals to entertain us, especially at their detriment. We need to remind ourselves to be kind and understanding when exhibits or halls are closed. I know space is limited, and income is generated by popularity so can we learn beforehand the times to expect that we can view more easily stressed/anxious animals?
#19
In our local zoo the apes started to miss the visitors so they brought in an artist in who's now just painting in the empty monkey house so the apes have someone to watch. They could tell they missed the visitors because they became very bored and are much more excited about the keepers than usual; apparently they watch the visitors as much as the other way around. The keepers now have to pay them more attention to and they also do stuff like hide food for them as a game Also: sorry for the confusion, I am not a Zookeeper myself but I live close by the zoo and it was in the local news and such
Zhaoheng Liu 5 years ago
make a website where we can see the animals and set up a screen so the animals can see us
#20
My girlfriend is a zookeeper and animal behaviorist. She says their animals are becoming stressed. One of their African Grey birds has been plucking his own feathers.
She also mentioned that because they can’t touch many of the animals due to the virus potentially spreading to another zookeeper, many of the animals are looking and acting depressive, not eating well, etc.
Full Name 5 years ago
This makes me so sad. I think they are taking it too far if they can't touch an animal for fear of spreading it to another worker. Any animal showing signs of depression should get cuddles.
Alissa Merstrand 5 years ago
The Zookeepers in my country even has to wear face visirs, a tiger somewhere in the US actually got infected with symptoms and everything, so its for the animals safety aswell. Its just really depressing watching the effects the isolation has done to some of the more social animals.
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Catherine Brady 5 years ago
I never thought about this. I suppose wearing masks might scare the zoo's residents. I also didn't think the staff would be required to social distance from them
Kayla Gehling 5 years ago
This breaks my heart, we really need to find a cure for COVID 19. I really disapprove about the Coronavirus and animals. If anything, an animal that is sick will most likely get better with interaction with humans, especially if they live in a zoo and are used to people.
Margarita Fletes 5 years ago
Free the animals! They have endured enclosure way too long as it's! They're practically jailed so their only attraction are the visitors so now they're missing that!
#21
I am an animal conservationist and work daily in a closed zoo. We observed animals at our zoo are going out more, instead of willowing in their covered homes. It seems the less attention on them has caused unusual but good behavior. We've recorded that they consume more food than usual. Oh, and they screw more
Rhiannon C 5 years ago
So do the camels, as I discovered from my most recent visit to the zoo.
#22
Our giraffes have gotten a bit suspicious without the guests being around. It seems to be really spooking them. The gorillas are happy though as they don't really like the guests so they are spending way more time outside which is nice.
Kayla Gehling 5 years ago
You have some very introverted gorillas and some very extroverted giraffes
#23
I’ve been watching the Taronga Zoo cams and the seals definitely keep trying to look through the glass for people while the tigers will pace for 40 minutes straight in front of the viewing window.
Full Name 5 years ago
Tigers are cats, so they're probably just doing it as a form of trolling. Soon as people come back they'll laugh and go back into hiding.
K. 5 years ago
Hahaha I hope this is true, and that we weren’t just stressing them out. Everyone and animals included could have varying and changing needs for stimulus, attention, and affection. We weren’t doing a good job thinking about their needs.
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Kayla Gehling 5 years ago
Okay, first thought when I saw this picture was- THEIR SO CUTE!!!! Sorry, but I absolutely adore white tigers. Second thought- that is so sad, If I could I would devote my life to keeping animals happy, safe, and healthy
Kylie Stovall 5 years ago
those being the most beautiful tigers ever the beautiful coloring of their fur so cute
#24
Most of our animals are happy as long as we can keep their routines, feeding times etc. For some they need a little extra. We do public encounters with our koalas, wombats and snakes among others so we spend an hour or so a day cuddling and handling these animals to keep them happy. A few of hour koalas really fret if they don't get their cuddles. Otherwise we just try to continue to spend time with animals that are expecting human interaction and of course we can take things for walks around the place like I'm sure you've seen at other zoos. Our wombats love a run and sniff, dingoes as well.
#25
Finally a thread I can answer!
Not a whole lot of change, but animals definitely missing out some enrichment of seeing guests, especially the otters that follow the kids in the glass under water. Takin, Maned wolves, bison, gibbons, BoPs, Lions, etc all are about the same. Some of our animals that are skittish have been standing closer to the fence where guests usually are (zebras, gazelle) which is nice.
It's kinda this weird balance of being both more and less stressed. On the one side, I don't have to worry about keeper talks or BTS tours and I have more time to get everything done and spend more time with animals. On the other side we're skeleton crewed and there's less of us to care for the whole zoo so I'm working a lot more in areas I don't usually cover as often.
There's one kangaroo that still tries to box me while the emu is shifting 🙄 The one peacock still really doesn't like taking his medications of course 🤷♂️
I have noticed that the crows in the city are behaving a bit differently as well and are being a lot braver lol
Susan Hart 5 years ago
I've hd a visiting Peacock (my neighbors) He like my place better cuz I had lots of shiny things e could admire himself in. BTW, folks would ask me if it was a male! HELLO! C**K???
Zhaoheng Liu 5 years ago
make a website where we can see the animals and set up a screen so the animals can see us
Kylie Stovall 5 years ago
i searched a takin and it looks like a brownish poler bear with horns
#26
I am a full-time zookeeper and it’s been difficult since we had to lay off all our seasonal/part time help. More work for those of us still there, but the animals are all still getting top-notch care. We’ve been able to take them out to new places they don’t get to when guests are around. Like taking our porcupine to the manatee building and walking a cheetah past the rhinos. I think it’s fun for them, but I haven’t seen any animals acting differently.
K. 5 years ago
Awesome that zoo animals are still receiving great care. I know money is an issue. I’m sorry and amazed by the wonderful and kind hearted people who are doing triple the work so that no animal is neglected. For the rest of corporate America and working people, let’s change the culture so that people don’t have to overwork themselves without getting promotions and higher pay to cut costs to higher ups. They expect this to be the norm without compensating your time that you have to spend away from taking care of yourself, family and friends, and individual enrichment and pursuits.
Jaybird3939 5 years ago
It boggles my mind what a porcupine must think of a manatee or an elephant seeing a cheetah. I just can't imagine what they think is going on!
#27
The parrots miss the crowds. They love flirting with the guests and now they’re demanding a lot more attention from us.
The tigers are more relaxed because we have been able to do a lot more fun stuff.
The fish are a lot more needy surprisingly. Lol
Susan Hart 5 years ago
When I had a salt water fish tank, the percula clown was my fav... BEFORE "Nemo"
#28
Most of our animals are more relaxed then they are with big crowds, or are acting mostly like they usually do. We have 2 bears that like to people watch, so they're definitely missing that source of entertainment, but are otherwise pretty normal. The biggest difference is that our pair of bald eagles mated for the first time in the decade that they've been housed together. We don't intentionally breed our animals, so there isn't a good nesting spot in their enclosure but they just scraped out a divot and laid 2 eggs in it! However, neither are incubating the eggs, and we don't have breeding permits for them so we can't keep the eggs :( Very unpopular with our visitors. The geese that nest on the property are also getting extra territorial and threatening us keepers a lot more.
Alissa Merstrand 5 years ago
Keeping an animal and breeding it is different, if the birds are native to their country and, or endangered, breeding needs to be monitored closely.
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Holly King 5 years ago
Are there breeding permits for other large birds who will care for their eggs? Need surrgotes to cover their eggs. Surely some Condor/Hawks females /males birds are willing to keep them warm. Which birds will build build huge nests for them??
#29
As a zookeeper coordinator I’ve been working at the now closed zoo almost every day for the past month. Animals that are free roaming (peacocks, iguanas) are more active, and follow keepers around like they usually do with visitors. Most of the others don’t show much change in behavior. Although birds like swans and flamingos are using the edges of their habitats more.
#30
I work with birds at my zoo, and they are actually displaying so many more natural behaviors than they normally do! They are much more comfortable just being birds with less people around. They don't have to worry about getting spooked, or stepped on, or screamed at. It's kind of a really cool thing to witness first hand!! I expect we might make more babies than a normal year, so that could be a bit of good news!
Sue Hazlewood 5 years ago
I suspect there will be a lot more human babies in around 9 months time too
Susan L. Miller 5 years ago
I expect the human species will be having another baby boom in 9 to 12 months....
chachkimooch 5 years ago (edited)
This is one of the most interesting stories I've ever read on Bored Panda!
#31
All of the birds are trying to make babies in all of the places. Previously public areas are fair game. Ducks have taken over the benches. It is pretty awesome.
#32
In the Zoo of Antwerp they noticed that the chimps are interacting much more with each other now they don't have people to interact with. And a fish called 'Jos' came much closer to the edge of his aquarium.
#33
Friend of a zookeeper here. He manages the apes and monkeys. And currently he is also doing his best to entertain them. While other animals seem to relax to the max, the apes are just bored without their human exhibit.
#34
Theres a bit of a balance of different behaviours that is kinda interesting. With no visitors there is more time for enrichment, to get more creative with said enrichment, trialing new things, and exposure to enrichment that has to be supervised which the animals are loving. Then there are certain animals that do seem to miss having public around - our younger (<5 years old) African Penguins are really seeming to miss being able to swim at the glass and interact with people. Higher intelligence animals we have had to come up with new interactions, lots of new training going on because they are "missing" the variety and variability of interactions with the public.
The snakes don't give a f*** though.
#35
Large public aquarium. It's been only a little different for them. A few of the more timid animals are out and about a little more frequently than usual or changing their active hours (the giant pacific octopus for example). I expected to see more change in the touch tank areas. Horseshoe crabs don't notice or care which is expected but the white spotted bamboo sharks are also not really changing their behavior really either which is good to see. We have cleaner shrimp that have to have more regular food because they're not grooming people anymore but other than that it's just another shrimp day.
#36
I am a zookeeper that works with strictly ambassador animals that are used to seeing people up close. We're trying to spend as much time with each one to make sure they're getting lots of mental stimulation. We've been bringing a raptor (one at a time) in our office too just to hang out each day. So far the animals under my care are all doing perfect. It's the most I can hope for! Now us zookeepers on the other hand....it is tough. No volunteers, staff segregated to minimize exposure...it's going to be a long road. I'm jealous of the keepers that have the extra time to deep clean and take their animals on leisurely strolls around the zoo. I'm working nonstop for 11 hours a day most days. I'm just thankful we are keeping our jobs. I would be lost without my animal coworkers.
Lauren Caswell 5 years ago
I know raptor is a bird, but my mind went straight to velociraptor XD
#37
Pretty normal. Our zorse keeps eating the wooden fence nibble by nibble. Oh, Zoe. You beautifully moronic creature. Zoe is my favorite :)
#38
I take care of fish, but mostly jellyfish. The jellies don’t give a single f***. It’s been nice for me though because I can turn most of their display lights off so less algae grows and I have to do less scrubbing. My actual fish don’t care. The beluga whales were screeching at the cleaning crew the other day which was hilarious. I don’t work with the whales but it seems like they enjoy, or are at least interested in, seeing others around.
#39
My wife works at the gift shop for our zoo and the other day we had to go move some stuff around in the store because due to some heavy rains, it had flooded a bit. Of course we took a lap around the empty park (other than the keepers and few maintenance workers) and found that all the animals were really active and playful. A lot of them seemed really curious about us too. I’m sure they get used to seeing crowds every day and were starving for attention.
#40
Sharks are still sharking. My sea turtle though is being exceptionally well behaved with divers.... a rare treat.
#41
Most are fine. We are trying to make the days as normal as possible. Shifting and cleaning at more or less the same times. Taking more time with animals that are used to a lot of public interaction. Helping hand feed the petting zoo animals. Taking out the education animals. I'm actually surprised how well the primates are doing, more so because they are used to the attention from the other staff that are no longer here. The only reaction I've seen: myself and several keepers and maintenance crew were standing outside one if the cat enclosures and when she came out she looked startled that there was a group of people there.
#42
A lot of the animals at the zoo I work at remain overall content if we stick to the schedules that were in effect before. Some might need a bit more food or attention here and there, but they are relatively normal most days. We spend some extra time each day providing certain animals with the things they need (Playing around with them, sometimes there's cuddling, etc.) It makes our hearts a bit warmer too, and it's a relaxing escape from everything going on at the moment.
#43
The zoo we go to has been taking various animals for a walk-about around the zoo to meet other animals safe for them but also so the animals can see what is causing all the noise they hear. They say it has reduced the animals' stress. Obviously, they're not taking tigers for a walk but I think it's a great idea.
#44
I work at one of the most popular zoos in the UK, and because of that one of the largest. I'm working from gone right now so I can't comment first hand but my Co-workers are saying how curious the animals are. Every person that walk by they're very interested in. On a side note, I always assumed an empty zoo would be a much better place for the animals and would be much more enjoyable for the keepers. However, when I asked a keeper friend of mine she said she feels like she's lost part of her purpose without visitors.
#45
The majority of our wild animals haven't been behaving differently. This is probably because their exhibits have visual blockers where they can avoid the public eye if they want. The only exception to this is our eagles who laid an egg for the first time in the 13 years they've been here. Our domestic animals, especially the goats, miss you guys. They are used to having members of the public come to feed and interact with them. It is very enriching and while we provide them with toys, puzzle feeders, browse, and other treats we don't have tons of time to spend one on one with them.
#46
I work at a museum that also is an animal rescue. Our animals are loving it! Our beaver has been allowed to walk around and explore the museum with staff supervision. Our macaw has been free to fly around as much as he pleases. It’s amazing to see the animals explore and see new sights. However, I do think the macaw especially misses the attention he gets from visitors.
#47
I’m part of a large cat rescue looking after mostly ex circus lions, tigers and panthers that were abused and made to perform for years. We’ve noticed that when there are visitors about, the same environment it created when they were in the circus (lots of people and noise, pictures being taken of them, loud kids etc) and because of this, the cats are better behaved because they were treated roughly, they know (or knew) that bad behaviour in front of large crowds used to mean they would get beaten or starved later on as punishment. It’s small change and you certainly wouldn’t know unless you spent a lot of time around them, but it’s certainly interesting. They also only eat Carols husband away from prying eyes.
#48
At the zoo I work at we have a giraffe that’s highly sociable and definitely misses the attention and then a few felines that appreciate the quiet but most animals are behaving that same.
#49
Depends on the animal. Some really like guest interaction like the gibbons and birds, others are enjoying the quiet like hoof stock. Others like the elephants don’t seem to notice. We have a new baby rhino so it’s been nice not having lots of noise getting her used to new spaces and making sure mom is comfortable with her calf in new space without loud sounds.
#50
Honestly, the animals at my zoo don't miss the visitors. They do miss the extra attention they would normally get from us though, walking the alpacas, extra training sessions with the capybara etc. We are working 2 teams at the moment on minimum staff so we are trying to pack in all our normal tasks into half the time. It's totally worth it though, those animals are getting the best care, food and entertainment possible.
#51
My best friend is a zoo keeper, she says their tiger loves that no one is there. The only animals that miss people being around are the monkeys, but really only one specifically.
#52
I’m not a zookeeper exactly but I run a living history farm that’s part of a city park. Our Jerseys cows are divas, and I’m sure they miss the visitors, but we have one person there each day taking care of them. I don’t think the sheep and chickens care much. I just made a video of the critters that we are posting tomorrow, hopefully it’ll help some parents keeping their kids entertained.
#53
I mainly work with primates at my local zoo. To be honest, I've noticed them be much more docile as of late, especially the chimpanzees. If there's a group that's a bit more active than the rest, I'd say it's the orangutans.
#54
Hoofstock keeper here! Most of the creatures I care for are prey animals, and have a tendency to be rather skittish and neophobic in nature. I haven’t seen any strikingly different behaviour... they seem quite relaxed. I have been making sure to give them even extra attention, as guests themselves can be a form of mental stimulation/enrichment that they’re not having right now. Plenty of lounging to be had by our moose, bison, elk, camels, and reindeer, to name a few.
#55
My zoo is heavily focused on shows, so our show animals were definitely a bit bewildered to not be going out and having people pet them all the time. Our show lynx is definitely more insistent on getting cuddles from the keepers, but other than them our exhibit animals haven’t shown too much of a change in behavior.
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What do you think ?
Hans 5 years ago
Behind every child that harrasses animals at the zoo is a parent who was a bad example! To my experience, hardly any child comes without empathy for animals, and most are very gentle with animals. Until they learn otherwise. Respect children, respect animals, respect any being!
Zuila 5 years ago
That isn't always the case. I know from my personal experience that we had a very rough journey with our eldest son considering the treatment of the pets. He liked to see how our dog and cat would react on hitting and harassing, but I can assure you that we wouldn't never mistreat our animals and we will not tolerate any mistreating of animals from our children (or any kid). Our youngest son on the other hand is naturally gentle with animals and our oldest has learned to be kind to animals.
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Zuila 5 years ago
I was pleasantly surprised that there were that many stories where animals missed the visitors. It feels like their lives at zoos aren't that bad.
Christina Uhlir 5 years ago
Don't forget that that is an opinion of people, even if they work with animals they can't know what exactly it is animals miss.
Load More Replies... K. 5 years ago
I really want to study and analyze these issues. People aren’t going to zoos/ museums/ aquariums as much as they used to, which cuts the funding and burdens the staff with more tasks to pull double duty. We should reevaluate what we do for fun and entertainment, send a message about what we prioritize and create a demand there. Thank you BoredPanda for including this article, which presented so many things to consider and distract us.
Julia Daxenbichler 5 years ago
This is just sad. Those animals never had a "proper social life" to begin with. Humans are not a proper social life for a wild animal.
Felicity 5 years ago
I'm surprised to hear that some animals actually miss the visitors. The last time I was at a zoo all I could think about was how stressful it must be for the animals with so many kids running about making so much noise. I think there should be signs up asking people to keep their voices down. I feel for the arctic fox.
Betsy Blanchard Burr 5 years ago
How wonderful to come upon you! The Peruvian birds were truly marvels--and I was sooo interested in the zoo observations. Thanks!
Beth Stevens 5 years ago
I really enjoyed reading this . what a great question! and very informative answers. My childhood dream was to be a zookeeper and I love hearing about the things you all do to enrich their lives!
Hans 5 years ago
Behind every child that harrasses animals at the zoo is a parent who was a bad example! To my experience, hardly any child comes without empathy for animals, and most are very gentle with animals. Until they learn otherwise. Respect children, respect animals, respect any being!
Zuila 5 years ago
That isn't always the case. I know from my personal experience that we had a very rough journey with our eldest son considering the treatment of the pets. He liked to see how our dog and cat would react on hitting and harassing, but I can assure you that we wouldn't never mistreat our animals and we will not tolerate any mistreating of animals from our children (or any kid). Our youngest son on the other hand is naturally gentle with animals and our oldest has learned to be kind to animals.
Load More Replies... Zuila 5 years ago
I was pleasantly surprised that there were that many stories where animals missed the visitors. It feels like their lives at zoos aren't that bad.
Christina Uhlir 5 years ago
Don't forget that that is an opinion of people, even if they work with animals they can't know what exactly it is animals miss.
Load More Replies... K. 5 years ago
I really want to study and analyze these issues. People aren’t going to zoos/ museums/ aquariums as much as they used to, which cuts the funding and burdens the staff with more tasks to pull double duty. We should reevaluate what we do for fun and entertainment, send a message about what we prioritize and create a demand there. Thank you BoredPanda for including this article, which presented so many things to consider and distract us.
Julia Daxenbichler 5 years ago
This is just sad. Those animals never had a "proper social life" to begin with. Humans are not a proper social life for a wild animal.
Felicity 5 years ago
I'm surprised to hear that some animals actually miss the visitors. The last time I was at a zoo all I could think about was how stressful it must be for the animals with so many kids running about making so much noise. I think there should be signs up asking people to keep their voices down. I feel for the arctic fox.
Betsy Blanchard Burr 5 years ago
How wonderful to come upon you! The Peruvian birds were truly marvels--and I was sooo interested in the zoo observations. Thanks!
Beth Stevens 5 years ago
I really enjoyed reading this . what a great question! and very informative answers. My childhood dream was to be a zookeeper and I love hearing about the things you all do to enrich their lives!
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