In Your Face

I have issues with zoos, says she who has just paid an entrance fee to go in one.

This particular zoo is very obviously spending a great deal of money on 'doing up' the enclosures. Strangely I was listening to Radio 4 this week on a programme on zoos and zoo architecture and on how historically it has changed but on how this reflects on what we like to see rather than on what the animal actually NEEDS.

Going round, many, very many, areas were closed off and paths shut due to work and renovations which is good but even when I got stressed and thought, ' Well ok there is a butterfly house!' that was closed too!! They have got rid of the bars and the metal mesh and replaced it with glass. Better you might think -but NO!! If the panes have been smeared, touched and really abused you can't see through them as a photographer that's for sure and the really annoying ones were the panes with a board, 'Peek through into the jungle..' la la with holes cut out to peek through BUT because the hole was so small the smearing and detritus on the tiny windows was magnified.

My big bug with the day and believe you me I had many was the elephant enclosure. Open air - tick box - Good!. Room well yes hmmm tick box - FG. (used to be a teacher :)) So it went on...not too bad not too good either but am not going there here. SO if you looked closely and thought about it, what room had the elephants actually got? Well it looked like an area they could move around in with water surrounding the area and then you looked again................There were wires all round the inner island enclosure so the idea of them being able to go in the water and bathe or even go near the water as they do - as I've seen them doing in Sri Lanka was not even an option. How are their skins cleaned? Following the wires and trying as I might I really could not see that they could use half of the enclosure!! I actually felt physically ill. Anyone who has blipped with me will know that you cannot drag me away from any photo op. what ever. However I did the entire place in just over an hour!! Very little on my camera.

Am trying to be fair here so have to say many enclosures had room and playful things going on. However...

Please God don't bring me back into this world as an animal! You never know where you might land up!