Any Zoos you plan on visiting next year?

And that’s the problem with this

 

Well...COVID-19 ended my trip to the Bronx Zoo. I’m really upset because I was really looking forward to my senior spring break. I have to wait until next year now because we’re really busy the rest of the year.

 

You and me both. I would have been on a small trip right now that I planned a few months ago.

 

I know what to do!

 

I'd like to visit in Miskolc, Szeged and Sóstó Zoo, but it depends on my family.

 

With the first wave of the Covid-19 epidemic mostly under controle and zoos here in Belgium and our neighboring countries now having reopened, I was making quite a few plans for the summer.

However yesterday I had a very negative experience with a zoo visit during which I saw a gross lack of observance of social distancing and Covid-19 safety and hygiene measure, on a massive scale and by the vast majority of visitors.

I am so shocked, upset and frightened by what I saw and experienced yesterday that I have decided to cancel all my plans and to not visit any zoos again until the Covid-19 crisis is largely or entirely over, and thus for the foreseeable future and likely for at least a year or more.

I think there is even a very large chance I will be forced to stop visiting zoos altogether forever. At this point I am no longer able to feel safe, comfortable and sufficiently free of stress during a zoo visit. And I a doubt highly whether I will ever get that feeling back. I most certainly will not while the dreadful spectre of Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 continues to permeate all of society.

 

I can assure you that there is observance from employees, it may just be too much for them to handle. From my own experience I've had times where I was more busy keeping people apart from each other with the 1.5m distance measurement over my actual job. This is of course not what zoos want for their employees, we ain't there to play police officer. Zoos expect people to keep themselves safe and sane. It's not the zoos responsibility.

However I do fully agree, the situation in zoos is sometimes terrible. I've seen people from multiple families clog up and visit the zoo ''together'' and other situations you'd expect people to not throw themselves into with the current situation.

I fear people are taking it for granted that the disease is somewhat ''over'' or less ''dangerous'' due to countries easing their measuresl.

 

Even if the other people are not behaving safely, it does not mean you personally have to break the social distancing rules...

You have threatened this many, many times before...

Yes, absolutely. But so far as we have seen here, the situation is more measured and more controlled; than it is in wider society. If people were not at the zoo,they would be somewhere else, behaving just as badly, if not worse.
Keep safe yourself.

 

I understand that zoo employees are doing their best and other things to do than enforcing the rules that are also very important. I definitely did not intend to criticize zoo employees in any way. And getting people to use their common sense and be responsible to keep themselves and others safe is very difficult and not something that can be expected to be realized by zoos and zoo employees.

Some zoos, like Antwerp and Planckendael, say on their websites that they are using volunteers or temporary workers as "corona stewards", however I have so far at those zoos seen few of them and those I did see seemed to mostly occupy themselves with keeping lines and arrows painted on pathways for directions and distancing clearly visible and filling up hand disinfection stations (which IS important work), rather than giving people breaking the rules a stern talking to. It would maybe be helpful if they had some more of those I think, especially in some busier areas and in some of the buildings.

That said, I fear that many people will avoid lecturing others about their behavior and lack of observance of social distancing and safety measures as a talking-to could well be received with verbal or even physical aggression.

The clogging up and gathering of different families is something I also saw at Pakawi Park. Here in Belgium groups of up to ten people from different households are actually allowed now, but I saw at least one larger group there.

I do everything I can to keep myself safe. I wear my mask when it is required and when things get too busy for comfort and I try to do my very best at keeping my distance. However yesterday there were several situations where other visitors who grossly ignored social distancing and safety rules and made it very hard to maintain it for others to observe those. I did the best I could to stay safe under those circumstances (mask wearing, keeping as much distance as possible, avoiding areas under some people clear out), but it was disconcerting to see people have so much disregard for safety rules during a dangerous pandemic.

Following all the safety rules is however in my opinion quite stressful, takes up quite a bit of energy and does substantially take away from the pleasure of a zoo visit, for me personally to such an extent that a zoo visit does not really convey much benefit for me anymore.

I also agree that people are definitely also misbehaving elsewhere in society and in worse ways than what I have seen at the zoo. Recently we had the anti-racism protests and riots, and just last night here in Belgium we had hundreds of people gathering to dance, sing and party in the streets after the closing time of bars and restaurants, with pretty much no-one wearing face masks. That is a far more dangerous than what happens at zoos, but it doesn't excuse what I saw and doesn't mean that the situation in zoos should not be controlled better - or it might cost zoos dearly during the second wave that almost certainly will come.

I have decided that for my own sanity I will likely have to avoid going anywhere I do not absolutely have to go as long as the coronacrisis continues, and to follow the rules and safety measures where I do go. That unfortunately means that zoos will not be an option, as I do not believe they can be reasonably called an absolute necessity of life, even for someone who loves them as much as I do.

 

I was going to go to Atlanta in March... I would have gone to the Georgia Aquarium and Zoo Atlanta as well as the Center For Puppetry Arts and Fernbank Museum of Natural History. It may be rescheduled to November, but idk for sure. Next year's planned trip is to the Columbus Zoo and The Wilds, I've been to both before and both were absolutely amazing. I can't wait to take my mom, she's never been there.

 

I had no trips planned for the summer so the virus has done nothing to disrupt those plans, only visits to the local zoo, but they've reopened. That's my only obstacle is whether a zoo I want to visit is open or not and what the operating hours are. I had briefly hoped to visit the El Paso Zoo in the fall, but I wanted to go by Amtrak. Unfortunately, the current operating hours of the El Paso Zoo when they open next week do not match well with the Amtrak schedule because that particular train doesn't run daily. If the opening hours change then I will go, but if not, I'll go somewhere else.

 

As I said, you've threatened never to go back to zoos, so, so many times in the past...

This virus is not going away, as is something we all will have to live with - in some form.
Clearly the biggest risk is being inside closed indoor spaces for extended periods with people you dont know - public transport, whether it runs on wheels, rails or wings, and crowded indoor venues including leisure facilities.

If you are expecting a vaccine to be the saviour, then I fear that you are not likely to leave the house very much, ever again. It helps with, but does not prevent, seasonal flu which is another fast mutating virus.

If New Zealand cannot pull up the drawbridge and remain clear of the risk, then there is no way Belgium could.

To expect zoos (where the risk is much lower) to be able to control people is a way which Government and the Police are not able to, is quite unrealistic.

 

Glad to see a post by someone (you) who "gets it". It would be a shame for Kevin to stop visiting zoos entirely just because of the virus, but if he's "threatened" to stop visiting before, then the virus is just becoming an excuse.

If something takes all of your (global "you") effort to enjoy it even a tiny bit, then maybe you should find another hobby. From the sounds of it, the hobby shouldn't require you to have to go out in public.

 

Unfortunately living with this virus will mean social distancing and safety measures for many more months, if not years to come, and likely periodic lockdowns also when things get out of control again. There is no sign or evidence this virus will become less dangerous or infectious - and it might well become more so - so we will not be able to return to "normal" any time soon. If we want to "live with" Sars-CoV-2 zoos - and many other businesses - will not be able to draw their pre-corona crowds again for a long time - and how are they going to survive that, especially given that they already suffered catastrophic financial damage from the months of closure? Unless there are any other options for living with this dangerous virus that do no involve social distancing that I do not yet know.

You are right that outdoor spaces (which in many zoos is the majority) have a lower risk for transmission of the virus, but if large crowds huddle close together in small areas, even outdoors, there is a substantial risk for a superspread event. Even with face masks large crowds will be too dangerous as long as this virus is around. Therefore zoos will have to avoid crowds and run on limited capacity for a long time to come, and will have to survive with limited revenue. And they will find it really hard to do so.

With regards to the vaccin: without a vaccin I do not see a return to our normal lives and to normal visitor numbers for zoos and businesses happening anytime soon, if ever. And such a return will be necessary for much of society and the economy to survive. It is true that viruses mutated, but from what I have read coronaviruses do no mutate as quickly as influenza viruses. And once you have one vaccin it might be more feasible to regularly change it to contain new strains.

Zoos will have to manage some degree of crowd control and get some control over the behavior of visitors or they will suffer from it at some point. If it were to be proven that any kind of transmission of the coronavirus in substantial numbers happened at zoos, or if a superspread event were to occur at a zoo, governments would likely be quick to close zoos again - this time perhaps forever. And if zoos were to start seeing zoos as risky places with a lack of crowd control they will likely allow zoos to reopen much later after a second wave, if at all.

I just really hope that we will not all have to find another hobby a few months or years from now, and that we will still have (most) zoos around to visit. I am finding it difficult to be optimistic about that right now to be honest.

In any case I think I probably exaggerated a little last time - and probably should have waited longer to post in this topic - and I have since started to rethink things, especially after hearing that even some people I know who are high risk patients have begun to visit zoos again, while minding their safety carefully.

I think I probably wil have to do at least a few zoo visits every now and then or I'll find it hard to keep sane as this crisis further unfolds. I am just thinking of solutions on how to avoid crowds even more and to be more safe - visiting on different days, choosing visiting times well, visiting parks that others have said have organized things better than others et cetera. A zoo season like I usually have likely won't happen anytime soon, but I don't think I am going to stay away for the zoo forever. Because it remains to be seen how many zoos will actually survive this crisis - and I do want to support them by visiting if I can.

 

I don't even know what to say. I've seen some extreme views on the virus, but...yeah...this is nuts. Fortunately, you aren't in charge of making decisions for the world or we'd all be forced to stay in our houses and not go anywhere or do anything. I take the necessary precautions when I go out. I am higher than average risk and my mom, who lives with me, is high risk, but I'm still not going to let the fear-mongering rule my life. I will only wear a mask if it means I can absolutely not enter an establishment without one. So far, nobody has said anything, but it's possible they assume I'm medically exempt when they see me in the electric scooter I have to use due to mobility issues.

 

Not to be rude, but could we stop discussing KevinB’s view on returning to visiting zoos and instead get back to the point of this thread? They are simply stating their views on the present situation and being conscious of the risk this virus poses.

On the zoo visiting note, I plan to visit Point Defiance Zoo later this week. The aquarium I believe is closed, which is disappointing, as I was looking forward to seeing the collection, but I do understand why they have done so. However, the zoo has had some births recently, and I’m hoping to spot some of the new additions.