ABQ BIOPARK

Field Observation #3

to:	Professor Kells
from:	Joshua Garcia, Bailey Wilder, & Sonora Rodríguez
subject:	The Albuquerque Bio Park Zoo
date:	April 30, 2014

Josh:

As our group got to the Albuquerque Bio Park Zoo, we noticed that the park was pretty empty on the windy Sunday morning. However, the people that were there seemed to be middle class parents with their hyper children, as well as older, retired people with their Cannon cameras. The zoo seemed a lot different from when I was younger. The park that I remembered put an emphasis on the animals and where they came from. I remembered a park that housed lively, exotic animals. But the new park that we observed on Sunday seemed to have changed from when I was a kid.

Today’s park seemed to focus on exhibits outside of the animals. Growing up, I sensed that the zoo was a man-made structure that housed animals for money, but today’s zoo seemed more like an amusement park. Clubhouses and play-lands stood on the side of the zoo trails, along with the gift shops and restaurant diners.  A mini train, packed with fake coal, took children for rides around the park as well. The zoo didn’t seem like an educational or new experience anymore, but rather more of a family attraction.

As we got to the animal exhibits, our group became disappointed, because the children’s play-land and patios (painted in African style) seemed more exotic than the animals themselves. Animals, such as the lions, giraffes, elephants, zebras, monkey, gorillas, and many others seemed old and tired, as they stayed motionless in their small confines of brick walls and iron cages. The exhibits themselves, seemed really dirty, as well as had nothing to do with the animals’ natural habitat. The group became disturbed when we noticed a giraffe eating a plastic chips bag. We were also surprised that many exhibits were missing so many animals. However, the observation wasn’t a total disappointment. The golden coats of the cheetahs radiated from their cages, and the gigantic stature of the elephants seemed surreal in our close proximity with the animals. It seemed as though each member was intrigued and felt their own connection with the different animals of the zoo, and the animals gave us a sense of knowledge that we don’t usually experience everyday.

The rhetoric of the park gave me a sense of pathos, in which I never want to go back. The cages, concrete barricades, lifeless animals, and play lands seemed like one huge celebration of the exploitation of the world’s animals. The rhetoric gave me a sense of logos, and my perception demonstrated that the park is pretty barbaric in the treatment of the animals. The ethos of starving animals, small confines, and polluted environments seemed like plenty enough evidence to see that these animals were being treated inhumanely. The zoo was not a new or educational experience at all, but rather an exploitation that catered to family amusement.

Bailey:

My group and I went to the Abq Biopark Zoo to do our field observation. It was quite empty when we got there in the morning.  As we walked through each exhibit we noticed how small the housing facilities were for the animals. Some of the large animals such as the lions and Gorillas were in smaller spaces that really didn’t allow them to do many things. I also noticed on the signs that explain where the animals are originally from most of them said in deep forests or lush mountain valleys where there is lots of rainfall and vegetation. Most of the animals where very quiet and tired, they lie around their habitat and look depressed. It was early in the day and could have been just waking up, but every animal from the kangaroos to the rhinos was lazy. Most of us agreed it was a sad place not what we remember our childhood zoo trips to be. I remember the lions would roar and the monkeys would play. We also witness the giraffe eat a Cheetos bag which is made up of aluminums and plastics. Sonora was disappointed in the up keep of the zoo because the trash was accessible to the animal and could potentially harm them. Again just like my previous experience doing my field observation I noticed the fabrication it the way they tried to accommodate the animals but it’s just not enough. There where hardly any really vegetation or trees that could properly shade them. There was trash in their homes and they seemed lifeless.  The water use in the zoo must be a lot, having to make makeshifts homes for the animals that live in the water. All in all it was not natural and the animals showed that through their actions.

Sonora:

As a group we decided that the Albuquerque Bio Park would be a suitable place to complete our field observation assignment. The ABQ Bio Park is located in the Barelas neighborhood on 10^th and Atlantic where a baseball field and a community center and tennis courts are all in sight from the entrance of the zoo. Upon entering the zoo there were gift shops and cafés welcoming it’s patrons and to my surprise there were quite a bit of people for a cold, windy and overcast day. 

To be completely honest the zoo wasn’t what I remembered it to be. As a child I had remembered the zoo to be vibrant and full of life but this time around it was very gloomy, maybe it was representative of the weather. The animals themselves seemed miserable. Most of them were asleep and some seemed uninterested when people walked by. Although, the mountain lion was the most active, pacing back and forth and was glaring into the crowd with his hazel eyes and his sharp teeth. This was intriguing to me because I could only help but think that this magnificent animal probably felt discontentment with being locked up in a small cage. 

Overall most of my experience at the zoo came from this critical and pessimistic perspective. Although, some of those feelings of anger faded while walking through the crowds and seeing how excited the small children were as they were running from exhibit to exhibit. They seemed so happy pressing their small noses and hands against the glass of the polar bear habitat, and being able to see animals in real life than rather in picture books. I also felt a little warm and fuzzy inside when seeing the mother elephant and her baby eating peanuts.  It made me realize that although these man made structures and habitats made me upset by confining these animals in such small spaces they also brought a sense of “wilderness” to an urban setting like Albuquerque.