Zoo Dilemma

CAPTIVITY VS PROTECTION

I visited a fun park in west London over the weekend. It's located pretty much at Heathrow, where the busiest airport in the world is, and is a combination of different establishments. There is a Jurassic Era themed golf course with animated dinosaurs. There is a very large restaurant. There are at least two different family parks with rides and all manner of climbing frames and a sort of zoo/animal sanctuary.

It was quite busy with families and children because the weather was quite pleasant and it was the last day of "half term" in most schools in England.

I spent most of the time with the animals, as I'm not quite the correct size to go on children's rides and am a little heavy for the climbing frames 😂. The Golf was too expensive and I wasn't really feeling like a 3-course meal. I hardly eat lunch these days and, when I do, it's something simple and healthy.

One thing that I noticed that I felt sad about was the fact that, with the exception of the Highland Cattle which are native to Scotland, pretty much all the animals were far, far, away from "home". A few of them are tropical, which means they are more accustomed to a completely different weather. I do wonder how certain apes and other such jungle and savannah animals feel in this weather we have here.

There is one that is native only to Madagascar. That's a pretty specific set of geographical and climate conditions.. Unfortunately, due to human encroachment and deforestation, a good proportions of wildlife in Madagascar is classified as "endangered" since they're only found on that island.

Even more sad are the caged birds of prey. If you are upset about caged hens and robins that roam free in nature, consider that eagles, hawks, ravens, falcons, kites and owls are inter-continental roamers. An eagle's "terrain" can span across multiple countries and continents, mountains, rivers and lakes. They are the rulers of the sky. It was truly sad to see them confined to a 12x12 cage for my perusal.

Being right underneath the flight paths of Heathrow, I can only imagine the trauma experienced by these birds every minute. I mean that literally. A airplane is said to land every two minutes at Heathrow. Consider, however, that planes need to also take off. that happens between the two minutes, so yes, every minute! You have to see it to believe it. Standing there looking up at the sky, I could see them come in back-to-back like clockwork. It's really a well oiled and highly orchestrated system.

These birds of prey have incredible eyesight and other astute senses especially related to flight that probably makes the experience 100x more traumatic for them. They poses a true fight or flight response but are constantly unable to take flight.

The only saving grace is that many of the animals there are considered "at risk of extinction" so, in a way, are being protected there.

Peace & Love,

Adé