Where are all the zoo nerds?

This thread could be subtitled: “Is ZooChat slowly dying?” (Traffic on this site has steadily eroded and many long-time regulars have left.)

My entire life I’ve been obsessed with zoos and even at a very young age I would collect plastic toy animals from the local zoos, draw extensively detailed zoo maps or read books about wildlife on a daily basis. I amassed a huge collection of 800 small zoo animals and I’d construct elaborate zoos in my bedroom and wherever my parents would allow me the space for such endeavors. As I got older I collected zoo maps, guidebooks and other knick-knacks and now that I’m an adult I continue to add to my collection of 150 guidebooks and 1,200 maps from zoos across the globe. By the time I was in my late twenties I’d visited approximately 40 zoos and aquariums and I was a workaholic who had received barely any vacation time until I became a high school teacher in the late 2000’s. Since then I’ve got married and had 4 children, plus 3 university degrees (including a Master’s in Education) and yet my zoo obsession has actually intensified. I devote a ton of time to my family and teaching career but I still spend a crazy number of hours planning extensive road trips and researching zoos around the world. Due in no small part to being a teacher and having entire summers off work I will have visited approximately 310 zoos lifetime by the first week of August and I have plans to co-author a zoo and aquarium book that will hopefully be published in 2016.

Other passions that I’ve had over the years has included reading (nothing beats a great book), movies (I watch 150 each year) and soccer (I watch approximately 40 English Premier League matches a year). None of those interests have waned and while I might not spend as much time as I could doing those things if I wasn’t working full-time and having 4 young kids at home…those passions, hobbies and obsessions have always stuck with me for close to 40 years now. When I hit my 40th birthday later this year I will still spend loads of time with my wife and kids, still watch soccer and movies, read as many books as I can squeeze into my crazy life, and zoos will remain incredibly vital to my existence.

What I have noticed over the years of perusing ZooChat is that many folks are not like me at all. There are quite a few zoo nerds that have similar stories in that they grew up idolizing zoos and everything those venerable institutions stood for; those individuals collected maps, cups, guidebooks, etc., and now those same people are also at 300+ zoos and enjoying every minute of their obsession. However, there are many others that have joined ZooChat and had a flurry of activity for months and then they’ve suddenly vanished into thin air. Some folks have been very young and thus they have now gone through university and achieved their dream of obtaining employment in a zoo. I’ve met and kept in contact with a large number of people in the zoo industry and many of them either cannot post anything on ZooChat for fear of losing their job or they only have a passion for their local zoo and they do not have the time, money or inclination to travel vast distances to see other facilities.

There are still others who have loved zoos for years and then suddenly there is a complete turn-around and they give up studying zoos altogether. They become involved in the industry and quit ZooChat; they become obsessed with hiking, bird-watching, whale-watching, train-watching and anything else but zoos. Folks go back to school or move to a new country, join the military or perhaps simply lose interest in captive wildlife. It is fascinating and while I have already mentioned that I’ve kept many obsessions I freely admit to one hobby that I do not partake in any more. I used to own over 800 CD’s and I once gave away hundreds of them for free; I have not purchased a new album since 2008 and have readily thrown in the towel when it comes to modern music. My final couple of concerts featured the elderly Rolling Stones and ironically the “Strolling Bones” are still touring…haha.

Zoos and aquariums are wonderful facilities that inspire conservation, education and a love for all animals. The future has never been brighter as modern zoos demolish outdated exhibits and build shiny new ones for their animals. I wish that all zoo nerds were as passionate as me but I fully understand that life goes on regardless and the world that we live in offers up many other interesting hobbies beyond anything involving zoos. It really is too bad that ZooChat has lost many excellent members but I’ll continue to stick around and hopefully things will pick up again in the future. If you have been one of those that has gained employment in the industry then congratulations, but otherwise where have the rest of the regulars disappeared to? Was your zoo obsession just a brief flirtation and not a lifelong romance?

 

I've always loved animals and zoos. The Zoo Tycoon games I played when I was a kid got me interested in how zoos are run and designed. I'm a broke college student with no car, so I can't really be as active in the zoo fandom as most of the people here.

Many people just lose interest in hobbies over time. I imagine ZooChatters interested in photography might be more inclined to get bored eventually because there's not usually much challenge, or like, specialness, in taking photos at the zoo. I've been doing a lot of bird photography lately. Birds are mostly what's around here, and I prefer the challenge. Taking pictures at the zoo is fun, but most of the time, I feel like anyone could do it, ya know? Meanwhile, I have some cool photos of wild whooping cranes. Fewer people go out of their way to find those cranes, or any wild animal, than go to the zoo. And not many people are able to get as close as I did.

I think some people also get bored because the whole industry can be slow to get animals that are new to captivity. Once you've been to tons of zoos and seen most of the species that are in captivity, you want something new, yes? Also, a lot of zoos, at least in my experience, don't really do a whole lot to cater to adult visitors, which might contribute to some fans getting bored.

 

Facebook and Twitter have slowly killed off traditional web forums across the internet, alas. I doubt there are any fewer zoo nerds than there used to be - they're just not on here anymore.

 

I've noticed a similar drop-off in ZooChat use. However, I'm one who used to post quite frequently but am practically unheard from anymore. Life gets busy. ZooChat is awkward to use on a cell phone and I'm rarely sitting at a computer anymore.

 

I would agree with this. The website is very difficult to use on a mobile device. With the migration away from computers to phones, and especially to programs with easy to use apps, ZooChat, and really all forum based communities, have been left behind.

 

I'm here, as I have finished banging flints together for the moment . . .

Alan

 

As I am quite young compared to everybody here, I have no idea as to what the future will hold for me. I just hope that I can be considered a friend of the modern zoo and just wish to always enjoy it. All I can say is: I was, am, and hopefully will always be a full on zoo nerd and hope to see this site through both the good and the bad

 

Just something I would like to add.

Now that travel to foreign and almost mystical places is easier, people would seem to chose the wild rather than zoos. I would have to agree with them. If I were given the choice to go on an African safari or San diego zoo, I would without a doubt chose the safari. There's just something so appealing about going to an animal's natural habitat and see the best and worst behaviors within them.

That being said, I am aware that most people can't afford wild adventures and go to Africa. That is why I am a huge supporter of zoos and can't wait to see what the future will hold.

Just my $0.02

 

I really do not know what happened to my love of zoos, it seems to have disappeared from me. I still lurk on this site and follow the news of my local zoos but I have not been to a zoo in over half a year. My desire to visit new zoos has completely gone down the drain. Now I seem to enjoy theme parks and thrill rides more than zoos.

I also feel that the quality of the posts on this site has gone down over time, and I have no desire to post anything anymore on Zoochat.

 

Environmental tourism does seem to be more common these days, granted, I'm probably too young to be saying "these days". (except when I go to the LEGO Store and complain that kids these days have it too good, I'm totally justified in doing that)

 

Just on the quality of posting issue - this is indeed a turn-off for me. So much of what we have these days is endless updates of 'rhino born at Beauval' or 'white-bellied sea eagles breed at Singapore' or whatever. Most of it simply comes straight from the zoo in question's Facebook page. Just reproducing whatever their marketing department decides to put out there.

I'm not presuming to say that this stuff shouldn't be posted - that's not my call - but I do have to ask whether we really need it? I fear it's crowding out actual discussion. If we want that stuff can't we follow the zoos on Facebook ourselves?

Mind you, it might just be that we're running out of things to talk about.

 

This is a fair call.

I should clarify that I don't care about 'update' posts in themselves - I just worry that they may crowd out discussion. Certainly it's not a question of space, which is practically infinite - only usability. Maybe we just need to be more diligent about creating new threads for stuff that grabs our attention.

I primarily use an iPad, which is relatively ok. Phone is more difficult.

 

You get used to it. All you need to get is one of those opposable thumb thingies.

 

There is something to be said about the disappointment had when you see a post about a collection you are interested in and upon clicking the link you discover that the lion cubs have been named Huey, Dewey, and Louie...

 

I still post but as my zoo visiting has been a bit slack of late then I've only been commenting on things that catch my eye! In all honesty, the posting quality goes up and down in waves, this won't be the first lull we've had on here and we all know it!

As for using phones, I went out and brought a Blackberry because it's easier to navigate this site with. I guess that just makes me sad... Or slightly obsessive! You decide!

 

It's off and on for countries of interest for Zoo and Aquaria. Can always count on UK and other European forums for keeping it up and something to read. The animal names, birthdays, deaths aren't really needed. Some articles like the ZooBorns, are just rehashed pics and articles from Zoos and Aquariums press releases or social media. Then there are fun things on here like Fantasy Zoos. It's a decent balance. I like ZooChat and it is fun to connect with other nerds that are passionate. I have found through others looking into different animals I wouldn't usually look into. Sometimes everyonce can nit-pick or kick a zoo in the rear and that is fine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and from that, it makes us think. We don't have to agree or disagree. But it's food for thought. Chatroom is usually just UK and US members. You can really learn a lot in there. TLD is like a taxa savant and is well-grounded and explains things. The younger crowd that joins and participates are furthering their passion of Zoos and Aquariums. Sometimes, a little too enthusiastically. It's easy to get caught up and your brain pops like a confetti popper. I have learned from the UK crowd about lifeticks and scouring to ID the animal down to the letter t. They're also still salty over the tea being tossed in the harbour. Ha ha. All in all, everyone is welcomed and appreciated. This forum connects the nutters of Zoos and Aquariums. People may come and go or have a change of heart, but that's ok. At least they can reflect back on their ZooNerd part of their life in the postings and photos saved on the servers.
I use my iphone 6 on here a lot. It's pretty easy, even in chat. If I have long PMs to reply to, I jump on my ipad or macbook. As with the 6, can get lost in the typing after the 11th paragraph or so. So, cheers to those before us, those here with us, and those that will come across us.