Frazz by Jef Mallett for May 06, 2024

I really enjoyed zoos until I started to understand how unnatural they were. Then I started enjoying them again when they started trying a LOT harder to make them at least somewhat natural for the animals there.

In Japan they have a ‘night zoo’ for a few days a year. A friend went and was really wowed by it. She particularly enjoyed seeing the tapir up and about.

When zoos went to a form of ‘natural habitat,’ some ran into problems. One found that zebras were so aggressive they needed separate space because they bullied the other species. Evidently that trait hadn’t shown up in all the previous studies of animals in the wild.

But building natural spaces was a good idea and improved the lives of the animals, the enjoyment of the public, and the gate receipts. Not a bad outcome

Regrettably, some species are so endangered that, if it weren’t for keeping them artificially protected in zoos, they’d be extinct by now. That’s what happens when you have 8 billion human beings sucking up every resource in sight.

There is—or was—a zoo somewhere (can’t recall the name) that had a sign posted: “Only species responsible for the extinction of other species.” It was hung under a mirror.

There was this zoo that only had one animal and it was a dog.

It was a shih tzu.

They had cages for the bears and big cats at our zoo. They built them better habitats and put zoo administrator offices in the old cages.

Revenge of the Sixth!

All public schools should be run like the Las Vegas district.

Animals are most active in the evening.

The girl would rather be more active in the evening.

Ergo, she’s an animal.

The zoo in the Roger Williams Park, outside Providence, Rhode Island, has a great night time display of artistically carved illuminated pumpkins around Halloween time.

There are two zoos right next to each other in Singapore. The “regular” zoo… and the “Night Safari” zoo… The Night Safari is only open at night. (Reduced temperature may be part of the lure of the night safari)