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link to a friend opens in new window email share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr like loading posted in postaday wplongform tagged awesome city connection experience kindness postaday strangers travel 8 comments 8 visit the minnesota zoo posted on september 27 2014 by stef several years ago my employer made a significant financial contribution to the minnesota zoo to help fund an exhibit and all employees were encouraged to go to the location and check out the new space at the time i thought visiting the zoo sounded like a great idea but then life got busy and i never made my way there i simply never made the trek to the zoo a priority so when i created my 101 list i added 8 to ensure that i would visit the zoo within the next 1001 days however from the time i initially made my 101 list to now several things in my life have changed one personal change that occurred last year that is relevant to this discussion is that i now adhere to a vegan diet and lifestyle in other words i don t consume animal products as part of my daily food intake and i do my best to avoid purchasing items that have involved any sort of animal harm or exploitation i know i do not live anywhere near a 100 cruelty free existence i m semi confident that some of my purchases vitamins medications clothing etc have involved some element of animal harm but i do my best to avoid engaging in practices or supporting companies products that hurt animals for human gain so when i recently reviewed the few not yet completed items on my original 101 list i paused when i arrived at 8 i m just not sure how i feel about zoos these days on one hand ethical zoos do provide some benefits for animals these institutions raise both awareness and funds for animal related issues they help ensure continued survival of animals facing extinction and they assist in cultivating positive curiosity about and respectful appreciation for all sorts of animals in some children and even some adults after all how many environmental advocates veterinarians park rangers ecologists etc entered their profession because of a positive childhood experience at a zoo i m guessing a good many and yet i can t get over the fact that to me a zoo feels like a large animal prison no matter how well the animals are treated they still aren t free to live in the wild like their peers to be independent and autonomous creatures but at the same time the exact same argument can be made about household pets the two puppies my sweetie and i have at home probably have less space to roam than most of the animals housed in a zoo so am i a total hypocrite for keeping pets i don t feel like i am but i do know our dogs would have died long ago if they were required to fend for themselves in the wild and that they have a much more comfortable life than their feral peers and i suspect this same line of reasoning can be applied to zoo animals too so maybe zoos aren t harmful to animals man when i plunked down item 8 on my list i had little idea i would be addressing such a contentious topic three years ago a trip to the zoo seemed like a lighthearted enjoyable way to spend a day now though things feel different i know there is no single right answer to any of the questions i have posed in these few paragraphs i guess the only way to resolve these issues for myself is to go to the zoo and see how i feel during and after the experience so off i go i arrived at the zoo a few minutes after 9 am on a gloriously beautiful saturday morning after finding a space to park which was a very easy task the zoo provides a sizable lot in front of their entrance i made my way to the main entrance while walking down the winding path from the parking lot to the main entrance i passed by multiple statues like this one each showcasing a different animal r of course this one is for you once i got to the ticket counter i told the college student staffing the space that i would like one adult ticket please he asked me did you park in the lot out front i answered yes and he replied okay so one adult ticket plus parking 25 please um what twenty five dollars for one person to visit the zoo ouch that seemed like an awfully high price to pay for a few hours of activity i was also saddened when i realized that a mindless night out at the movies is cheaper than a day of education but i set those thoughts aside handed over my credit card and walked through the turnstile into the main lobby of the zoo still after that steep entrance fee i m expecting this place to be spectacular the very first thing i noticed was the semi pungent smell of animals uh oh am i going to be inhaling nastiness all day i got a little anxious however after a few minutes in the zoo the smell dissipated and i felt a lot more comfortable for the bulk of the visit of course there were a few places in the zoo that were more odiferous than others but for the most part foul animal smells were minimal after taking just twenty steps or so i passed by an exhibit monkeys perfect greeters to the zoo after taking another twenty steps i saw that the monkeys were in an open air space the glass i had been behind was for the benefit of humans so that the humans could eat in restaurants that were positioned on the opposite side of the glass the monkeys were viewable from a skybridge type structure opposite the glass window i walked through an exit to get outside and watched the monkeys with only air and space separating us the monkeys were fascinating to watch there were some juveniles who were running around like crazy chasing one another all over the place some adolescents who were intent on doing work around the space and some adults who were calm and stately yet no matter their age each of the monkeys were incredibly expressive this slideshow requires javascript the stately elders i could have hung out with all of these guys for an hour alas i had other animals to visit as i continued following the main zoo path i passed by a tank of penguins where i saw quite an unexpected sight a human on display amid the penguins the little boy shown here was more fascinated by the woman than by the animals his dad repeatedly tried to get the boy to look at the penguins but all he wanted to do was watch the lady clean this penguin is also very curious about the woman s efforts either that or he s supervising to make sure she does a good job it s his home after all the rest of the penguin crew quizzically after exiting the penguin area i found myself entering a space called the tropics trail the tropics area of the zoo was sizable i saw a whole host of interesting animals and they were quite active too watching these tortoises eat broccoli was wonderful these two guys were very calm yet very persistent seeing their little mouths go chomp chomp chomp felt almost meditative and i loved that these guys were eating the same veggies that humans eat interconnectedness i m tellin ya this guy was about as active an an alligator gets gotta include a tropical fish shot for my dad the zoo provided lots of nooks and crannies designed specifically for small kids to walk or run through and allowed the children to get a unique perspective on the animals for example a small cutout was made near the above fish tank so that kids could see these swimmers from the bottom up as well as at traditional standing eye level those kid friendly spaces were placed throughout the entire zoo and each one of them was really cool i m not ashamed to state that i maneuvered into nearly all of them continuing with the tropical tour these are bats feeding on apples i know the animals are probably difficult to see in this image since their cave was so dark this was the best picture that i could manage to take watching these bats feed and interact with one another was interesting but also creepy i m not gonna lie bats were always my least favorite part of spelunking this slideshow requires javascript a red river hog even the most odd looking creatures look wonderful to me if i am able to connect with their eyes a komodo dragon this slideshow requires javascript this small section of the zoo literally looked like an oasis so pretty a group of otter pups all huddled together awwww though this image is dated 1980s anyone the concept is solid hand cleaning was a must throughout the day still on the tropics trail i saw this new to me creature he s a tapir a group of warthogs that were mellow versus aggressive this panda looked like a stuffed animal seriously s he looked almost not real rest assured s he was real s he moved around ate some leaves and scratched a bit as i turned around a bend in the trail i came to a sudden halt when i saw this an escapee a bird out in the open mingling with zoo visitors what the turns out that the bird aviary is an open air space where the birds are free to go wherever the heck they want and since they are pretty familiar with people one of them was more than willing to let me come close really close first this little guy peeked at me from the safety of a rock but as i stood still he popped up in full view and let me come closer and closer and closer until i was literally inches away from him this photo is the actual image i took no artificial zoom or post processing cropping is in place here i think he might have let me touch him if i wanted to but i restrained myself how is it possible to let dozens of birds fly around in the open what keeps them 1 in the zoo and 2 not being eaten by the other wild animals in the tropics area here s the secret i say good bye to the birds and walked through the bamboo curtain to finish up the tropics trail one of the last animals i saw in this section of the zoo was a terrific turtle this little guy was swimming all over the place because he was so active i could only get one mostly in focus shot of him but what a shot it is i love his smile cool fact leaving this area of the zoo i reflected on all of the information displayed for each animal signs explaining each creature s behaviors food choices friends and foes and any unique qualities the animal possesses educated kids and adults alike but equally importantly the zoo also posted ample signage about the importance of conservation and protection and clearly stated the tragic results of failing to care for vulnerable beings humans can still make a positive difference here sadly it s too late for us to prevent this loss extinction is forever after leaving the tropics trail which is an enclosed area of the zoo i decided to use the restroom before i ventured outside now usually i keep details about my bodily functions private with one notable exception but in this particular bathroom i saw a sight that struck me as funny and that served as a good reminder apparently animals aren t the only ones that have an odor about them we humans can stink pretty good too as evidenced by the need for this fan a good reminder for us to not get too haughty about our superiority over other living beings once outside the next animal area i approached was the northern trail where i encountered animals i m more used to seeing in my previous visits to standard zoos this slideshow requires javascript as i exited the bear cave i saw an empty stage though i could reasonably guess what close encounters were i did a tiny bit of research anyway and learned that yes close encounters provide guests with one on one opportunities to interact with zookeepers animal training demonstrations and a chance to observe and touch fascinating critters close encounters occur every day throughout the day in all areas of the zoo obviously a presentation wasn t occurring at this particular moment but i kept an eye open for a similar experience in a different part of the zoo after walking a few more feet i approached a seemingly random part of the zoo i mean why russia then again why not if the zoo focused on the tropics read south america and africa the northern trail i e north american and european animals and penguins hello antarctica i guess the only areas of the world not covered are australia and asia and since the map in the above image includes the coast of china and japan i guess this is an attempt to include asia into the global mix curious about what animals might be classified as russian aka asian i wandered into the grizzly coast space a curious fox someone among the zoo staff has a clever sense of humor this slideshow requires javascript this slideshow requires javascript the zoo had an open space where some of the big cats got to roam freely the patrons were on a skybridge structure several stories above the cats this image was as close as any of us were able to get to the cats feels like a good distance to me one group of animals in the russian coast space that i didn t get a chance to photograph were the sea otters because they were totally showing off for all of the patrons walking past them these zippy little animals followed people as they walked past their tank performed summersaults for anyone who lingered and dove underwater to get down to eye level with smaller kids these buggers were complete clowns i laughed at their antics and delighted at the way the kids responded to positively to them who doesn t like a comedian after all if you want to see a professional photo of the sea otters you can find it on the zoo s website along with much clearer and closer photos of all the animals the zoo houses as well as various facts about each animal the zoo people have better access to the animals than i do and their images reflect this fact back on the northern trail i continued to encounter a variety of animals this slideshow requires javascript just before i left the camels i looked over to the right of them and saw this scene what a stunningly gorgeous fall day mmmm continuing on with my tour of the zoo i arrived at the family farm area this section of the zoo is only open seasonally may oct so i was really glad i came in time to experience it the entire zoo is designed primarily for children understandably still i loved seeing this quote near the start of the family farm path a great reminder by a great man a paved trail about a tenth of a mile long led to the farm space to help prevent little legs get annoyed before they arrived at the farm fun signs were placed along the path just one of many examples clever but if the kids or their adult companions were simply too tired to walk any more a tractor ride was another available option sorry it s not red d they didn t consult me on this one after a 5 minute walk i arrived at the farm the first animal i saw at the farm was a horse but apparently this is no ordinary horse this slideshow requires javascript as i continued walking toward the heart of the farm i learned that many babies had been born just weeks before so not only did i get to see adult animals but i got to see cutie babes too like this curious c...