Picture this:
You are a human being with special features. I don’t want to be too imaginative, but just picture that you are a specially created human being that possess a very special physical feature, and for the fun of it, or for research purposes, you are confined in a room, that has a mobile phone, a laptop, WI-FI, water, food (just perfect for you to survive) for a very long time. Then, you have people come watch you for “recreational purposes”, while the people that confined you make money from the visitors… Cool, yeah? Or not so cool?
Right! That’s exactly what it feels like confining animals in zoological gardens for recreational purposes.
I’m sorry if this sounds mean, it’s my love for animals’ freedom speaking.
The first time I saw a hyena, it was at a zoo in a federal university in Nigeria. I ran, first because I knew that Hyenas do not walk alone, but in packs, and when they approach, they make this weird sound that wasn’t forthcoming from the one I saw. How did I learn that? Thanks to NatGeo Wild. Now, this hyena, even though it jumped up and down, could not explore its natural traits in this confined habitat because it had been hijacked from its natural habitat.
I also saw more animals, but one thing stood out for me. I saw malnourished and underfed lions, and all I felt was pity for the poor king and queen of the jungle. Even the animals knew they looked so unhealthy because the anger on their faces was second to none. Just a mistaken slip from one of the visitors would mean that they had the opportunity to regain their lost nutrients.
When I asked the guide why they looked like that, he said, “they are only fed once in three days because that’s how they feed in the wild”, which I do not dispute. However, I wanted to further ask if the meals they were fed meet the same satisfaction level as the one they would eat if they were in the wild, but then, I chose to be quiet.
Unfortunately, months after I visited, I learnt that the lion pounced on its caretaker after many years of taking care of him.
This is what it feels like living in confinement. Anger, frustration, boredom, all combines for these animals living in zoos. Natural conservation centres where visitors visit them in enclosed and non-penetrable cars in their natural habitats is better.
At least, there, they will be able to prey, predate, socialize, reproduce, fight, be free to be the wild that they have been created to be in their natural habitat. I understand that they may not live long because of their predator-prey relationships among them, but I believe they lived a more fulfilled life in the wild, exploring their natural selves and traits than living in confinement.
Except from parrots, and some other beautiful animals that want to be raised as pets, wild animals should be left alone in the wild and not be forced to serve human’s needs.
Have I ever seen an elephant in real life? No, even though I have been to two zoos in my country, I know a lot about them just from watching NatGeo Wild, and that’s from their traits in their natural habitat, not in confinement.
So, no, let’s not be selfish by using animals for our sightseeing and money-making purposes, we should let them be, and maybe find a more conservative centre where they are able to live like wild animals and not within the perimeters of a confined wall.
Images are generated on MetaAI.
