Pop culture affecting way kids expect animals to act
By Kate Smith

Children are being left disappointed after visiting the zoo because the animals there aren't "real" enough.

Children have long applied human characteristics to animals, but the all-singing, all-dancing antics of cartoon characters in films such as Happy Feet, Finding Nemo and Madagascar have pushed the personification of animals to a new level.

Now research into zoos and their visitors has found that children are even claiming that some animals are in fact "pretend" because they aren't behaving the way the children expect.

Researcher Dr Nils Lindahl-Elliot, from the University of West England, spoke to families at Bristol Zoo and Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, near Torbay.

He discovered that children wanted closer encounters and to be able to touch, smell or hear the animals and interact with them individually.

Parents, on the other hand, told researchers they wanted realistic settings, such as large enclosures that resemble natural habitats, and not animal shows or "funfair sideshows".

Lindahl-Elliot told the Sunday Herald that, while traditional zoos had clear boundaries between the animals and the public, many zoos now had interactive zones where children could experience animals at first hand.

Many responses from children were based on popular culture, Lindahl-Elliot added. One child said of a reptile: "It's a Steve Irwin croc."

Another described the same animal as "Norbert the Dragon from Harry Potter".

When asked his opinion of the zebra enclosure, a 10-year-old boy told researchers: "It's boring, I think you should have a lion and a tiger in there with them."

Lindahl-Elliot said: "There is very much a March Of The Penguins effect here. They expect animals to behave in a certain way, but animals are animals.

"Clearly films and TV programmes act as a benchmark in people's minds about how an animal should behave, but this is not a realistic expectation.

"There are ethical and practical dilemmas for zoos and wildlife parks who want to give the animals room to roam, but must be able to give access to the public. A tiger, for example, will take up position in an enclosure as far away as possible from the public.

"Now zoos try to emulate the natural habitats, and there are also immersive displays which give the apparent sense that you are close to the animal."

Stephen Woollard, education manager at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said Edinburgh Zoo has a number of interactive attractions for children.

"The whole of the zoo, in a way, is interactive," said Woollard. "Coming here is a sensory experience. The smells, the sounds and experiences are not necessarily what the public is expecting, and children learn things like lions spend a lot of time sleeping and doing nothing.

"But we seek to add value in the interaction with the animals with our close encounters' activities where the children can hold some varieties. The animals are doing the work and the child is learning through discovery.

"The child learns by investigation and discovery. They learn from holding a snake or interacting with a chimpanzee, and they discover the animal's uniqueness and difference from humans.

"In one of our interactive activities children feed beautiful rainbow-coloured parakeets nectar, and they always say they didn't know birds had tongues."

Gary Gilmour, park manager at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling, said children, in particular, sometimes have unrealistic expectations of the animals.

"Lions do nothing more than sleep or hunt all day," said Gilmour. "We often hear children say they should be more active and entertaining, but that's their job, to lie about all day."

Blair Drummond allows visitors to get close to animals in enclosures for lemurs and monkeys. There is also a petting zoo where children can hold lambs and smaller animals.

"It's a difficult balance to allow the animals to be seen, but also give them a comfortable environment. The lemurs will interact with visitors, but monkeys are a little more reticent and hold back."

Ross Minnet, spokesman for animal rights group Advocates for Animals, said: "We would hope this will encourage parents to stop and think what zoos can really teach children about animals.

"With 21st-century technologies and amazing programmes showing the rich tapestry of life in the wild for animals, it's no surprise that the research finds when children visit zoos they are often disappointed that many animals lead rather sedentary lives.

"Surely it is time to stop imprisoning wild animals behind bars and exploiting them as exhibits for our entertainment."