Throughout history, humans have created many divisions between race, gender, wealth etc., each division separating ‘us’ from ‘them’. In the same way, a division between humans and nature has been socially constructed to divide the “western society” and the “other.” From these constructions, the term ‘wild’ has come to attribute primeval and savage characteristics to nature and animals living within nature. It is common to consider animals that life in nature to be ‘wildlife,’ yet using this term lends the same primeval and savage characteristics to animals. Many people view wildlife as dangerous or frightening, due to their lack of education, and lack of exposure, which has negatively impacted human-animal relationships. Consequently, the
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People who are uneducated about animal behaviours will see wild animals as one of the following, “a fearsome predator or benign teddy bear.” On the one hand, violent experiences in zoos are often triggered by children believing that the animals will do them no harm. For example, children that see fluffy panda bears at a zoo may be tempted to enter an enclosure expecting to experience a large teddy bear. Earlier this year, in May, a child fell into the gorilla exhibit inhabited by Harambe, a critically endangered animal. Before falling in, the boy had articulated that he wanted to go in, suggesting that he was not aware of the potential danger. After Harambe dragged the boy across the exhibit he was killed by the zoo staff in order to protect the boy. The boy was not seriously injured, yet staff decided to kill an animal because it portrayed threatening, unpredictable behaviour. Regardless of the gorilla’s intentions, events like these could be prevented by more thorough education of animal behaviour. Research has shown that many people visit zoos in order to learn about animals. While the placards and zoo staff do provide valuable information, visitors that see wild animals in captivity merely walking around will not be exposed to a true representation for learning about a
People who are uneducated about animal behaviours will see wild animals as one of the following, “a fearsome predator or benign teddy bear.” On the one hand, violent experiences in zoos are often triggered by children believing that the animals will do them no harm. For example, children that see fluffy panda bears at a zoo may be tempted to enter an enclosure expecting to experience a large teddy bear. Earlier this year, in May, a child fell into the gorilla exhibit inhabited by Harambe, a critically endangered animal. Before falling in, the boy had articulated that he wanted to go in, suggesting that he was not aware of the potential danger. After Harambe dragged the boy across the exhibit he was killed by the zoo staff in order to protect the boy. The boy was not seriously injured, yet staff decided to kill an animal because it portrayed threatening, unpredictable behaviour. Regardless of the gorilla’s intentions, events like these could be prevented by more thorough education of animal behaviour. Research has shown that many people visit zoos in order to learn about animals. While the placards and zoo staff do provide valuable information, visitors that see wild animals in captivity merely walking around will not be exposed to a true representation for learning about a