Her: Mom, are the animals going to be pretend or real?
Me: Real beta.
Her: Why?
Me: The animals are caged. So you are safe. They are there for you to visit, observe and learn.
Her: Why are they all caged mumma? Is zoo their real house?
Me: {starting to get uncomfortable about the whole visit coz I hate zoos anyway}. No baby. The jungle is their real home. But some animals are brought from the jungle to the zoo. So all of us can visit and learn about them in a safe environment.
Her: Mumma, will there be a lion?
Me: Yes.
Her: Can I pat the lion?
Me: No.
Her: Why? you said it's safe?
Me: The lion will be in a cage. He is dangerous and you cannot go near him. You can say hello from far away.
We moved on to talk about polar bears and pandas and elephants.
The kids had a good time, in general. We got lucky and got front row seats on top of the double-decker bus during the zoo tour. We could see polar bears, grizzly bears, elephants, giraffes, Hippos, etc very clearly. We walked quite a bit as well, and were lucky to observe a Jaguar feeding session.
Within a few hours, the kids has seen and learnt whatever they could, they were exhausted, and slept peacefully in their car seats on our way home.
All said and done, I'm not sure if I can ever love going to the zoo. I simply don't like it. During the entire day, my only moments of peace came while we were walking as a family along a trail covered with bamboo trees....no cages around and very few people too. Rest of the time, I can say I was uncomfortable from within, and did my best to hide it from the kids.
I value freedom very dearly. And the reality of a zoo is that very freedom is taken away from these animals. Even though some species are endangered (like the Panda) and the zoos are doing their bit in the conversation space, the animals are still held captive. They might be taken care of and fed well, so physically they might be okay. But what about their emotional well being?
And about kids learning, even that can be done by watching documentaries/shows that are filmed in the wild. It can be done by taking the kids to visit National Parks and Safaris. When we visited Denali National Park in Alaska, I remember the bus driver's comment: "Everywhere else, the animals are caged and you are free. Here, we drive you around in a cage (bus) to see the animals roaming freely in their natural habitat." And honestly, that bus trip was totally zen-like. One of my best trips ever.
So, what do you think?
Here's a picture of the kiddos at the zoo :)!
