My sister and I visited the Bronx Zoo on Friday with her sons and my daughter. The zoo is a wonderful place for people though perhaps it is a nightmare for animals. However well cared for, these animals are not at home; they are less than what they could be. They are our pets. Because we have captured them and can study them and learn about the wild places from which they come, these animals are worlds away from their own habitats and the natural world to which they are entitled. Not ambassadors of but hostages from the wild, their presence in the Bronx begs us to love the world, to be kind to it, to let it be that they might be.
My World Tuesday
26 Comments
Your pictures are beautiful. So many things are a double edged swords. I love that zoo (I grew up in the Bronx). I was there many years ago and remember being impressed with the attempts at habitat duplication. But, I agree with you. The animals are not home. I've become an animal advocate of sorts and I relate to the animals. What if we were trapped, then placed on another planet, where our environment was copied. Would we be happy?
ReplyDeleteStunning photography!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the idea of zoo's; I am somewhat divided on the whole concept. I hate the fact that these animals are kept imprisoned in foreign places, but then again I like the idea of exposing children and educating them about wild life. I just wish there would be a better way to do this then exposing them to caged animals...
I hope you are having a lovely Monday,
xoxo
I do love being able to see all the different animals and the zoo here in Seattle is definitely one of the really good ones because it is habitat oriented, but it is still sad to know these animals will never be free or know what it is like to live in their own environment. At the rate many of them are being killed or their environment being destroyed, many of them may disappear and that's sad for all of us. Your photos are marvelous as always, Sandy. Have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
true they are hostages...
ReplyDeleteMost Zoos these day have the animals in huge places for them so they can roam, not in cages like many years ago.
ReplyDeleteLove your shots my friend.
So true...so true! Though I enjoy seeing the many animals and birds it makes me sad to see them caged up like that.
ReplyDeleteHugs
SueAnn
Beautiful shots of birds and animals at zoo. Very true, they are definitely at home there.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots and words Sandy. I agree with everything you said.
ReplyDeleteso very true what you said. i didn't even consider that possibility. thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteDon't you love Zoo's? such a love of the animals --I wish they could run free but I know our zoo has done such a nice job w/ the natural Habitats
ReplyDeleteAmen to that, well said, Sandy! And your photos are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSandy, the second shot looks like our black necked stork which we here in Australian know as a Jabiru. I gather there is a Jabiru in South America, too. I have recently seen one in the wild. They are magnificent creatures.
ReplyDeleteSo well said about zoos, if only they could talk. Great shots.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos Sandy. It does make ones heart ache seeing these animals cooped up.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots. Most of the critters in zoos these days are born of zoo-born parents whose parents were brought to the zoos in the 19th & early half of the 20th centuries.
ReplyDeleteLiving where we do, it's great to see city kids interacting with our local wild 'neighbors' and seeing the vast forests, often for the 1st time.
The simple fact that we must keep cats & smaller dogs in at night to protect them from the various winged & four paw predators in our woods abutting the back yard tells wise folks that domesticated critters are poorly equipped to live in the wild.
The groups like PETA who pride themselves on 'freeing' animals haven't a clue that they're sentencing the critters to an early and nasty death from starvation, disease, or becoming munchies as easy prey.
Sometimes the wishes of humans run counter to the logic involved. Life in the wild is a constant struggle for those born into it, let alone for those who have been raised & cared for by humans.
great shots and it's truly heart wrenching seeing these animals being caged up like this.
ReplyDeletebeautiful photos. i agree with what you wrote about the animals in the zoo. but some of these animals only survive because of conservation efforts by zoos. when humans stop hunting for pleasure, for money, and shoppers won't buy products made of fur and leather, then maybe zoos would be no longer relevant.
ReplyDeletegreat to see them here as well as i just arrived from our country's last frontier and saw peacocks and big lizards on its natural habitat.
ReplyDeleteVery well said. No matter how close to their habitat they make their surroundings, it's the people that makes it quite unnatural. Am quite torn too as I do love animals and would love to see them upclose and where else but the zoo. Great shots by the way!
ReplyDeleteIt's true. I always feel bad for the animals in zoos. I want to set them free at the same time that I am enamored by critters I don't normally get to see. YOu saw some lovelies!
ReplyDeleteVery fine shots. I agree with you. Zoos and circuses are always very sad.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your thoughts on zoos and the animals they house. The animals are essentially in jail, regardless of how nice the surroundings might be.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures were wonderful.
We are also in a zoo! We built the zoo to protect them from us
ReplyDeletei haven't been to the zoo for years but it looks like we'll be frequenting different zoos in time once my little boy grows
ReplyDeleteI must admit I have very mixed feelings about zoos. Like you said, they are good for us but not so for the animals.
ReplyDeleteso so agree.
ReplyDeleteI think we're evolving in this,
I get nervous watching fish in a tank, so I get this.
Thanks for being here.