Holy Cow!! Umm.. yeah, in my opinion, the public can get too close for comfort. As a former keeper, I know it's all too easy to get snagged by a claw. I wouldn't want my children that close to the fence. It seems there is hotwire along the interior perhaps? Still, if a lion sees an opportunity like a little hand sticking through... never been there though.
I agree, there should be a barrier/fence keeping the public back from the fence. If one of the lions lies down by the fence, or stands there leaning on it (I couldn't see any hotwires) the public would be very tempted to put their fingers through and give them a scratch. Which zoo is it? Hix
A couple of years ago a woman climbed the safety barrier and reached into the lion enclosure at Melbourne Zoo to "pick some flowers".
Thanks for embedding this video ! The fence does have electric wire going around it. But still the lions were acting a little aggressive towards the kids ! It should have a stand off barrier around the enclosure.
The Park is Paradise Valley Springs in Rotorua...fabulous park with a perfect safety record. The fench has eletric wires all the way down. The chain link netting is only 37.5mm , much smaller than most Zoos use today. This park has had Lions for over 30 years and without their breeding programme other Zoos around NZ wouldnt have the lions that they do.
It's still unacceptable they don't have a simple stand off fence, giving a metre or so of grace... I haven't been since I was a little kid... I might e-mail OSH methinks...
Hello NZ Jeremy, why not visit the park and talk to the owners... here at Pouakai Zoo we get comments via other organisations and we have always wondered why the people didnt come and speak to us directly, we are always in the park and approach visitors and answer all their questions, to have a comment come to you via another 'organisation' means you have to hope that that organisation replys to those who made the comment. Both Pouakai and Paradise Valley are privately owned and we have to strive harder than council zoos as we rely on our visitors for revenue to always be improving the quality of the park and of course all the animals... MAF look after zoo/park requirements, not OSH Thanks Fiona
Having read some [a mere fraction] of your 2871 posts I have formed the impression that it would have needed to be!!! LOL
