I don’t mind watching animals in zoos if they’re small (the animals, not the zoo). But the larger the animal is, the more out-of-place they seem to me. They always seem to belong in the open, the wild.

I especially don’t want to see cheetahs in small enclosed spaces. Cheetahs are like the physical manifestation of the wind. I love watching them in their natural habitat.

I agree, the sall enclosures are what makes going to the zoo heartbreaking. Here in Calgary we have a zoo and I remember when I first started taking the kiddos to it, the enclosures were terrible for the elephants, hippos and giraffes–tiny places with little room to move or roam. Thanks goodness the zoo has since then continually upgraded the grounds and now all these animals have decent living spaces.

Ha, some irony–I just spoke to my cousin who is in town with his family and we’re meeting him at the zoo this week. 🙂

Mary, I feel the same way about zoos. It is hard for me to take my kids there because I feel so bad for the animals. I try to eep in mind that it’s educational, that if kids didn’t see endangered species, they wouldn’t care when they go extinct, but…nope, still don’t care for the zoo thing.

For me, zoo smells trump sight, sound, taste, and touch…