"Cub petting"

>>2379243
I went to a cub petting thing that was at a mall magic show performance. Probably about 10 or something at the time. They were all wet for some reason and just laid about sleeping. Looking back on it they seemed overall unkempt and malnourished and were probably put under so they wouldn't get rough with the patrons. I only pet a tiger cub that could probably pass as a corpse for a few seconds before giving up.

All in all it was probably my second worst birthday.

>>2379248
I went to one in Russia and it was the exact opposite. There was a young leopard, a few foxes some tiger cubs. All the animals were alert but not aggressive. They had thick sleek coats and perfect weight (not fat and not skinny). All in all they looked healthier and happier than 80% of the zoo animals I've seen.

It'd bring in more money for sure. I'd pay to play with a lion cub.

>>2379243
That's a fluffy lion.

Our local zoo did it with some rescues that had been taken from some drug dealers or something.
The most random assortment, it was like 2 lion cubs, a capybara, a gharial (not for petting, it was just there) and some smaller wild cat.
It was followed by them throwing a quarter of a cow into the lion enclosure, everybody watching the lions obliterate it, and saying 'THAT'S WHY YOU DO T KEEP LIONS AS PETS.'

Ehhh, I'm not a big fan of anything that lets the public get close to zoo animals unless it's something in an outreach/education program. It's not about the health of the animals.. obviously, if it's done responsibly, that won't be an issue.

My beef with it is this sense of entitlement and lack of respect that a lot of guests/public seems to have. People in this category include those idiots that jump fences to touch zoo animals and who take selfies with nesting sea turtles.

This is ex-zookeeper frustration talking but I think shit like this does not help instill a sense of respect or help educate public. I completely understand how much money an attraction like this can bring in, and when you get right down to it, it's not all that different than buying a couple of lettuce leaves to feed to giraffes, or a stick with seed glued onto it to feed budgies in a walk-through aviary (both zoos I worked at had these). While some people who fed animals were respectful and responsible, some of them were shitty as hell and would yell at me, other keepers, or the cashiers when animals weren't interested in eating.

So, I dunno. If you could do cub petting in a very safe, sanitary, and controlled environment with very strict rules about what was allowed, make the whole experience very education-minded, and charge an arm and a leg for it with that money going back to care of the animal or a conservation effort, umm.. sure.

If it's just for Facebook likes and doesn't contribute to anything meaningful, fffffuck it.

Ok so i study big cats and I'm for it only if it id done right, there is a certain age range roughly around when they start eating meat and exploring that it can be done but in my opinion it has to be a individual case by case basis.

>>2379309
As an ex-zookeeper what are your thoughts on private insitutions maintaining large enclosures for wild cats that are to be "mascots"?

>>2379316
As long as an animal is appropriately cared for and respected, I don't have a problem with it. I'm sure you have a specific example in mind but if I saw a captive lion in a private institution that was being given interesting enrichment, was kept engaged and happy and healthy, it's hard to argue against that regardless of the animal's, ah, 'purpose.'

I guess this is kind of about picking your battles? I can't justify being against animals that are well cared for when there's a lot of bad shit going on out there.

>>2379329
A local university had a tiger pass away in the last year and no institutions want to give it another even though there is a massive enclosure with waterfalls and all sorts of enrichment devices all because he would be a mascot and it's not officially a zoo.

For the university's part, they will not buy a tiger from a private breeder as they say it's not ethical.

File: Mike-Tiger-LSU-Habitat[1].jpg (98KB, 690x425px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2379316
not zookeeper anon but I'm from louisiana and LSU has the best enclosure I've ever seen for Mike
Current mike recently died after being diagnosed with some form of cancer on his face but most of our tigers have lived for 17+ years

Pic related is most of the enclosure in the picture but its kind of shaped like bow so its nearly impossible to get the full thing in a single shot

File: 9XyLgpq[1].jpg (333KB, 1600x1050px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2379355
heres another shot

>>2379355
That's exactly what I was talking about. I live in BR.

>>2379353
>>2379355
:(

That's sad. I appreciate the university's stance, though. Even big cats and big kittens need rescue from time to time so maybe an opportunity to get another tiger will come along.

I do sympathize with the zoos' stances, too. Kinda crass to say but a tiger is a big deal for money reasons. Big cats are a draw. Can't tell you how many times I had people walk through the bird exhibits and complain that they were bored and wanted to see the "real" animals. Annnd even a surplus (not enough room, not genetically valuable) tiger would be a good bargaining chip for another animal the zoo might be looking to get.

But also since it's LSU, an alumni with some clout (a big donor, maybe) may be able to pull some crazy strings and get a zoo to donate or loan a tiger.

File: 20160711_162052.jpg (2MB, 5312x2988px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2379358
Heres a pic i took shortly before Mike VI passed away

F

File: brzoo.jpg (1MB, 1500x2000px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2379367
Malayan tiger at br zoo
Some faggots walked by and pissed it off while it was being pretty relaxed and trying to cool off a few days ago

>>2379364
The old Mike was officially a rescue from some group up in Indiana, I believe.

>>2379369
Yea
was from an unintended breeding from a siberian and bengal they had

>>2379243
As much as I'd love to hold a cub personally, I'm definitely against this.

There was a "traveling zoo" that visit's my hometown's mall each summer. Admission is free but every extra thing costs money. I think it was like $25 for the cub holding and more to take home a picture. As a child I really wanted to do this since I love lions, but when I last visited the "zoo" before moving out of state I was really glad we never did. I noticed how drugged and miserable the animals seemed. It was at least 90 degrees and the cubs were completely limp. There were only two and both were being used for photos at the same time. Neither had a chance to rest and they just seemed completely out of it. The "zoo" also had a few elephants that gave rides and some camels that I saw the "keepers" feed a 2 liter of Mt. Dew to for some reason.

>>2379368
I've never been to the zoo here. Is it any good? I remember there was some kerfluffle in the last year or so with some dogs getting in and killing an animal at night. I also recall them wanting to move the zoo out of the god damn hood.

>>2379394
its ok
some of the animals enclosures leave things to be desired but theyve been upgrading steadily
IIRC they are moving it out of the hood and have started building already
They have a pretty nice selection of animals although I wish the little part that had reptiles and fish was better
Id rate it a 7/10 all the animals seem healthy but maybe a bit bored

>>2379399
I'll have to give it a shot. I really like the Audobon Aquarium in NOLA. That's a top tier aquarium.

>>2379408

All of the Audubon Institute facilities are pretty top tier. The zoo is one of the best in the country.

>>2379421
My favorite zoo is the Henry Doorly easily.

>>2379426
You from nebraska? It's the only zoo I fully enjoy visiting

>>2379436
Nah, I have some family that lives there and I really like going everytime I visit. I've been living in BR for the last 8 years or so.

I am not a zookeeper but i visit zoos every four months or so. Even I get pissed at fucking dicks that think they're entitled to treat animals like shit. It's also more common than you may think.

I don't like the idea of taking babies from their mothers unnecessarily.

>>2379243
My thoughts are I need to fucking find out if any zoos in my state do this and visit immediately.

Something low-IQ shits don't grasp is that the vast majority of these animals will spend their entire lives in captivity. They're NOT "wild animals" anymore than your fucking house cat is.

>>2379309
>This is ex-zookeeper frustration talking but I think shit like this does not help instill a sense of respect or help educate public
You lost that fucking war a LONG time ago. Humans are an aggressive cancer at this point. Most of the plebs can never be taught to have respect for living things because it's simply not something you can teach. You're either intelligent enough to understand compassion or you're not. And most aren't.