Zoos

Zoo Issues / Milwaukee County Zoo

Lion at the Milwaukee County Zoo

In 2008, I decided to visit the Milwaukee County Zoo when I found out that they had a Family Free Day. Having lived in Wisconsin for 12 years, I had never visited the zoo, because I'm opposed to keeping animals in captivity.

The Milwaukee County Zoo is a great case study, since it is among the top zoos in America. It is also an accredited institution of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

When I entered the zoo, I tried to do it with an open mind, which was not easy. I was hoping though, to find at least a much better situation than the one I remembered from my last visit to a zoo, when I was a teenager.

The very first animal I came across was a lion. It was not easy seeing this impressive animal kept in a small enclosure behind glass, with his natural habitat painted on the wall. One thing that I noticed almost right away was that most of the felines were doing a lot of pacing, which I've learned is a sign of stress.

After the felines, I went outside and found the enclosures of the elephants, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses. It's a sight I won't soon forget. They are confined to the most depressing looking enclosures. And since we were in the middle of the winter, they spent most if not all of the day in there. I only saw the elephants outside for about half an hour.

It was no surprise to me to see them expressing many behaviors showing that they were bored and under stress. The elephants were doing a lot of head bobbing and repetitive movements and the rhinoceroses were pacing in their enclosures.

I noticed that the people walking by didn't spend much time with these animals, simply because there wasn't too much to see. It was clear that the elephants, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses were basically in a waiting room until spring.

Rhinoceros at the Milwaukee County Zoo

Elephant at the Milwaukee County Zoo - 2008

I contacted the Milwaukee County Zoo and asked them about this particular situation with the elephants, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses, but got no reply from them. It surprised me when I found out that the Milwaukee County Zoo is considered one of the best in the United States.

To the left you see one of the small clips I took of the elephants. On this clip you see an elephant repeatedly lifting up an object and throwing it down. She was doing this for an incredibly long time. I would walk away from the elephants, come back an hour later and found her still doing it. You can find a larger version of this clip and other clips and pictures I took during my visit in my picture library.

The rest of the zoo wasn't much better. It was soon clear to me that the zoo is truly not much more than a collection of bored, lonely and depressed animals.

I visited the Bonobo exhibit. Bonobos (also known as Pygmy Chimpanzees) are our closest living relatives and very intelligent animals. At the Milwaukee County Zoo they are given a small playing area with some climbers. Human children would get bored there after a few hours. These animals have to spend years in this place.

Bonobo at the Milwaukee County Zoo

Baby Orangutan Mahal at the Milwaukee County Zoo

I also came across several baby animals. These exhibits are of course the most popular ones and extremely crowded. One of the babies I came across was Mahal. He was rejected by his mother at another zoo and had just been flown over to the Milwaukee County Zoo to see if M.J., one of the female orangutans, would be able to take care of him.

It was absolutely heartwarming to see how well M.J. was taking care of him. If I hadn't known, I would have never guessed that she was his surrogate mother. It was really sad though to realize that Mahal will be raised in captivity.

Milwaukee is known as America's Dairyland, so I was not surprised when I came across a real running dairy operation at the zoo. The zoo has a small number of cows, a milking demonstration and a shop where you can buy dairy products.

The first thing I noticed when I went into their dairy farm was that all the cows are chained by their necks. I was told by someone who works there that they get about half an hour of time to go outside each day. No matter how depressing some of the other enclosures are in the zoo, the other zoo animals at least weren't chained by their necks.

Cow at the Milwaukee County Zoo

Cassie during a milking demonstration
at the Milwaukee County Zoo

Another big contrast with the other zoo animals was that the cows aren't allowed to stay with their babies. As a zoo worker explained to me, the calves are removed from their mothers right after birth, which is a standard procedure in the dairy industry. I had just witnessed the orangutan M.J. taking care of Mahal, a siamang mother nurse her baby and a tree kangaroo playing really sweetly with her little one.

While the cow Cassie was being milked during a milking demonstration, her baby was in another building where she is fed some of her pumped milk.The zoo worker told me that the cows need to get used to humans, since they are in a zoo. That doesn't explain though why they are the only zoo animals that are separated from their mothers.

Cassie's Calf

Having spent the day at the zoo, for the first time in so long, was a very emotional experience for me. As a child I used to love going to the zoo. I've always loved animals and the zoo for me was a great place to be with them. I didn't know though that all the behaviors I used to see (like the pacing of the felines), are signs of stress. Going to the zoo as an adult and with more knowledge made me view the zoo in a completely different light.

Even though there were a huge number of people at the zoo when I went, it was a very lonely experience. Was I the only person to notice that the enclosures of the elephants, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses were the most depressing, concrete prisons you can imagine? No one can possibly believe that these animals are living a decent live in these enclosures. Are our own needs to view them so much more important than their well-being?

Elephant at the Milwaukee County Zoo