O/T here also, but I volunteered about 1,000 hours at our zoo when I was a teen. It was a really amazing experience, I learned a lot and have some fond memories. There were very few restrictions on what we could and couldn't do at the time. A few of my favorites are having the back of my shirt munched by a guanaco, falling into the monkey moat when I was cleaning it, and feeding the sea lions. IIRC, 4pm was feeding time and I would take the bucket of fish out, the zoo would announce it, and people would flock to their enclosure to watch. I had a fish bone embed itself in my finger once and to this day I still have a scar from where it was removed, and tingling when I hit it wrong. There was a baby spider monkey who "knew" me and I could call him from any side of their enclosure, he would come running with his arms up. I loved that little guy.
I can say with certainty that the animals were very loved and well cared for, but their enclosures were all too small. In the last 15 years or so, our zoo has expanded to probably double the size of what it was when I was there. However, I have read some sad stories lately and I will not be going back.
Back to our ginormous mama, April. This story has reached far and wide and I believe that a lot of children (and adults) are interested in giraffes where they were not before. If that brings attention to conservation and such, that is a positive. I have found it heartwarming to read SO many comments from others who care for the elderly, and how beneficial it has been for them to watch her. Same thing I said early on about my GMA. Is it selfish of me to feel happy watching April, or when my GMA calls to see if "we have a baby yet" when I'm not with her? Perhaps. Yes, perhaps it is, I'm torn on how I feel but we are still going to enjoy baby watch...
All JMO, MOO, IMO, etc.
