Zoo Day

The week before my finals, I had the pleasure of journeying to the John Ball zoo for the first time.  My dorm hall gave away free tickets on a Wednesday afternoon and I thought "why not".
I had the pleasure of meeting up with two of my friends on the zoo trip and we explored together.  I had a great time with Veronica and Jay.  It was a great experience and a wonderful study break.  Here are some pictures I took:

 

 

 

I got some of the best pictures that day of the lion, who looked old, tired, and uncomfortable.  He was also in need of a haircut or grooming.  Despite his age and mangled hair, he still looked regal and handsome.  I desperately wanted to help him, as he looked very lonely without any other lions in his exhibit.

It is crazy how we get older places that used to bring us so much joy, can now cause us pain.  As kids, we don't realize how sad some of the animals are.  How out of place they look or feel, how ill-suited their environment is for them.  It takes a really great zoo, however, to make you appreciate how dedication and hardwork can provide some joy to these caged animals.

We seem to grow more conscious of the emotions and behaviors of animals as we age, at least if we try to become in tune with them.  Part of my goal in life is to raise awareness for animals and to educate people about them.  I realize how important zoos can be for conservation, but how they can also leave animals to lead miserable lives.  For instance, the zoo I have to the most is the Detroit Zoo.  For a while growing up, the polar bear exhibit was awful, although probably not much different than many zoos with polar bears.  The exhibit was small with a puny pool for the polar bears to swim in .  The polar bears looked very unhappy.  The good news for the polar bears, however, is that a new exhibit was build for them.  This new exhibit is much, much bigger and provides a tremendous amount of swimming space for the animals compared to the older exhibit.  This new home for the polar bears is so great that it was even rated the second best exhibit by any zoo in the U.S., as well as earning the title of America's largest polar bear exhibit.

Despite enjoying my time at the John Ball Zoo, I will always have a special place in my heart for the Detroit Zoo.  Zoos can be controversial, but I believe they do provide a great way to educate people about animals.  It truly is amazing the diversity of animals we have in the world.  I feel that we often take that for granted.

And in conclusion, the John Ball Zoo trip was a great break from studying, especially since just over a week later I had my final in Zoology, which is animal biology.  However, going to the zoo is much more enjoyable than learning complicated scientific terms.  I prefer snapping pictures of wonderful animals.  However, the course did teach me a lot and got me one step closer to my veterinarian dream.