Zoo- What I don’t like about zoo

There is nothing exciting than seeing animals in their natural and wild habitat. Every living being in this world has the right to live their own life with freedom and animals and birds are no exception. What I don’t like about Zoo is that animals are forcefully caged. They should be walking in the wild instead. The concept of Zoo never thrilled me since my childhood. I remember a visit to the Zoo was discouraged by me whenever there was any plan. We did not have a Zoo in Dibrugarh, a town in Assam where I grew up. So when my parents and I  visited Guwahati, which is also the main city of Assam, we were asked to visit the Zoo by our relatives, but my sister and I always preferred visiting either the Planetarium or some other place.

Zoo- What I don’t like about zoo #A2ZChallenge

The animals stay in between the four walls of a cage and have no other option than walking just a few steps in it. They cannot move anywhere on their own. I have no idea whether they are well fed or looked after with proper care. Whether they are given proper medical treatment if sick. I have visited The Guwahati Zoo, The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in the town of Darjeeling. Thus the list of the Zoos that I have visited is very less. They don’t attract me at all.

But the main reason behind the establishment of Zoos is to conserve the critically endangered species, to ensure their safety and security, to enable scientist study about the animals and their behavior. These animals are said to be protected from poachers, smuggling of animal horns, etc in the zoo. But the question is whether these reasons are fulfilled or not?

The animals are held captive to entertain visitors. People have a strange fascination to see animals caged. Just imagine if you are caged and people from all over come to see how would you feel about that. Disgusting! isn’t it? Same goes for animals too. I think Zoos disrupt the normal food chain.

There is a very famous poem by poet Leslie Norris in the English book of class 10th standard about tigers kept in a cage and how they move about freely in the forest. The name of the poem is “A Tiger in a Zoo”. Its very sad to see a tiger stalking the few steps of the cage whereas it should be roaming freely in the jungles, running after plump deer and stalking them through long grass. The poet has very beautifully pointed out the pain of the animal. It is not just limited to the tiger but each animal kept there.

I remember on my visit to the Darjeeling zoo there were three langurs in a cage, they were sitting together eye fast closed. Some kids tried to awake them, make them move from their place, they shouted, called them with names. But I saw they didn’t make a single move. They have become indifferent to visitors, it doesn’t excite them at all. Rather they weren’t to stay alone, stay in their own natural habitat. I also sighted two pandas and they were sitting on the branch of a tree helplessly as it was raining heavily. In a forest, they would have found a better space to take shelter from the rain.

National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries are a better way to conserve animals. Though they are not safe inside the reserve as many cases of poaching are reported almost every year. But still, at least the animal can have their own space. They can move around in their home. Forest is their home and it is there where they should stay. On my visit to Manas National Park in Assam this month I a baby elephant playing all by himself in between the long grass. This is a sight which is seldom seen in a zoo. I saw peacocks dancing flaunting their beautiful feathers. Animals should also have their full share of nature. We have no right to cage them. We human beings should be aware of our own activities.

Let me know what you feel. It’s a long debate some say zoo is good whereas some oppose the idea of a zoo. Wht=at do you feel about it.