Animals in zoos 'lonely' without visitors

As we know, the current pandemic has affected almost everything in society. Even the animal kingdom. From frantic seagulls scouring city centres for scraps of food to animals in zoos who are apparently 'lonely' due to the lack of visitors. Yes, several zoos around the world are reporting that their animals are not too happy.

Zoos have had to close to members of the public due to Covid-19.  As a result of this, changes have had to be made. At Phoenix Zoo, keepers have started having lunch dates with elephants and orangutans. And some primates have gone as far as looking for missing visitors.

A man who works at Dublin Zoo said that animals have been "wondering what's happened to everyone." Director Leo (Dolittle) Oosterweghel said they animals look at him in surprise. (Probably when he asks them on a lunch date), anyway, he further went on to say that "the wee animals come up and have a good look. They are used to visitors," he told the Irish Times.

At Orana Wildlife Park in New Zealand, rhinos and giraffes were still trying to fulfil their contractual obligations by turning up for their scheduled "meet the public" appearances. "The gorillas particularly seem to be missing people, they really enjoy seeing the public," one spokesman told a newspaper.

Phoenix Zoo have reported a change in the behaviour of their animals. Some have been pooing at an extraordinary rate due to anxiety, and the bats appear to have been shunned. A communications director told a broadcasting network that she had noticed that some of their more social animals were not so keen on the social distancing orders. Probably the party animals. "Primates especially have noticed our guests are gone and go looking for them." I wonder where they actually go to search? Local supermarkets? Parks?

Without visitors, some animals lack stimulation, Paul Rose, lecturer in animal behaviour at the University of Exeter told the BBC. "Some individuals, such as primates and parrots get a lot of enrichment from viewing and engaging with visitors. It's beneficially for their wellbeing and quality of life (to observe people acting foolishly) If they don't get this their lives lack enrichment," he blabbed.

Another concern is that some fickle animals are "forgetting about humans" due to the lack of visitors. Fish at an aquarium in Japan have been guilty of this. So, as a result the staff there have asked Japanese folk to FaceTime its eels so that they remember and remain comfortable around people.

"I think many zoo animals are quite resilient and will be aware of changes in daily rhythms," says a man called Paul Rose. "Phased opening of animal houses would a good thing to do, to ensure that sudden noise change from quiet to loud is not unduly affecting the inhabitants."

Demola, TCC