Synopses & Reviews
Please Do Not Annoy, torment, pester, plague, molest, worry, badger, harry, persecute, irk, bullyrag, vex, disquiet, grate, beset, bother, tease, nettle, tantalize or ruffle the Animals. -- sign at zoo
Since the early days of traveling menageries and staged attractions that included animal acts, balloon ascents, and pyrotechnic displays, zoos have come a long way. The MA(c)nagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris, founded in 1793, didn't offer its great apes lessons in parenting or perform dental surgery on leopards. Certainly the introduction of veterinary care in the nineteenth century -- and its gradual integration into the twentieth -- has had much to do with this. Today, we expect more of zoos as animal welfare concerns have escalated along with steady advances in science, medicine, and technology. Life at the Zoo is an eminent zoo veterinarian's personal account of the challenges presented by the evolution of zoos and the expectations of their visitors. Based on fifteen years of work at the world-famous San Diego Zoo, this charming book reveals the hazards and rewards of running a modern zoo.
Zoos exist outside of the natural order in which the worlds of humans and myriad exotic animals would rarely, if ever, collide. But this unlikely encounter is precisely why today's zoos remain the sites of much humor, confusion, and, occasionally, danger. This book abounds with insights on wildlife (foulmouthed parrots, gum-chewing chimps, stinky flamingoes), human behavior (the fierce competition for zookeeper jobs, the well-worn shtick of tour guides), and the casualties -- both animal and human -- of ignorance and carelessness. Phillip Robinson shows how animal exhibits are developed and how illnesses are detected and describes the perils of working around dangerous creatures. From escaping the affections of a leopard that thought he was a lap cat to training a gorilla to hold her newborn baby gently (instead of scrubbing the floor with it) and from operating on an anesthetized elephant (I had the insecure sensation of working under a large dump truck with a wobbly support jack) to figuring out why a zoo's polar bears were turning green in color, Life at the Zoo tells irresistible stories about zoo animals and zoo people.
Synopsis
Some 140 million people visit zoos and aquariums annually -more than attend all major U.S. professional sporting events. "Life at the Zoo" is an eminent zoo veterinarians personal account of the challenges presented by the evolution of zoos and the expectations of their visitors.
Over the past thirty years, more and more has been expected of zoos as animal welfare concerns have escalated along with steady advances in science, medicine, and technology. This book tells how animal exhibits are developed and how illnesses are detected in patients and describes the hazards of working around dangerous creatures.
From escaping the affections of a leopard that thought he was a lap cat to training a gorilla to hold her newborn baby gently (instead of scrubbing the floor with it), from operating on an anesthetized elephant ("I had the insecure sensation of working under a large dump truck with a wobbly support jack") to figuring out why a zoos polar bears were turning green in color, "Life at the Zoo" tells irresistible stories about zoo animals and zoo people and a few about their adversaries.
box-in
From "Life at the Zoo"
If a mating scene spontaneously unfolds in the presence of children, some parents simply grab their kids hands and drag them unceremoniously to the next exhibit without comment. Or, they make a profound transitional pronouncement such as, "Hey kids! Lets go get some ice cream right now!" The most creative parent I ever witnessed in this predicament decided to stand her ground with her five year old and simply lie. Asked what the two monkeys were doing, she said, "Well sweetie, the little monkey on the bottom hurt her leg, and the big monkey on the top, well . .. hes trying to help her up on the tree so that she can rest." Promoting the appealing sentiment that animals are caring souls, the lie succeeded and they moved onward to the next set of monkey cages, most likely with a parental prayer that they would encounter no more orthopedically challenged inhabitants.
Synopsis
From escaping the affections of a leopard that thought he was a lap cat to training a gorilla to hold her newborn baby gently (instead of scrubbing the floor with it), "Life at the Zoo" is an eminent zoo veterinarians personal account of the challenges presented by the evolution of zoos and the expectations of their visitors. The book also tells how animal exhibits are developed and how illnesses are detected in patients and describes the hazards of working around dangerous creatures.
Synopsis
Please Do Not Annoy, torment, pester, plague, molest, worry, badger, harry, persecute, irk, bullyrag, vex, disquiet, grate, beset, bother, tease, nettle, tantalize or ruffle the Animals. -- sign at zoo
Since the early days of traveling menageries and staged attractions that included animal acts, balloon ascents, and pyrotechnic displays, zoos have come a long way. The Mnagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris, founded in 1793, didn't offer its great apes lessons in parenting or perform dental surgery on leopards. Certainly the introduction of veterinary care in the nineteenth century -- and its gradual integration into the twentieth -- has had much to do with this. Today, we expect more of zoos as animal welfare concerns have escalated along with steady advances in science, medicine, and technology. Life at the Zoo is an eminent zoo veterinarian's personal account of the challenges presented by the evolution of zoos and the expectations of their visitors. Based on fifteen years of work at the world-famous San Diego Zoo, this charming book reveals the hazards and rewards of running a modern zoo.
Zoos exist outside of the natural order in which the worlds of humans and myriad exotic animals would rarely, if ever, collide. But this unlikely encounter is precisely why today's zoos remain the sites of much humor, confusion, and, occasionally, danger. This book abounds with insights on wildlife (foulmouthed parrots, gum-chewing chimps, stinky flamingoes), human behavior (the fierce competition for zookeeper jobs, the well-worn shtick of tour guides), and the casualties -- both animal and human -- of ignorance and carelessness. Phillip Robinson shows how animal exhibits are developedand how illnesses are detected and describes the perils of working around dangerous creatures. From escaping the affections of a leopard that thought he was a lap cat to training a gorilla to hold her newborn baby gently (instead of scrubbing the floor with it) and from operating on an anesthetized elephant (I had the insecure sensation of working under a large dump truck with a wobbly support jack) to figuring out why a zoo's polar bears were turning green in color, Life at the Zoo tells irresistible stories about zoo animals and zoo people.