Field Observation #3: The Albuquerque Bio Park Zoo

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 or a feeling, 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.