Stéphanie Lagacé - My Blog

Every single person went to the zoo at less one time in their life. What kind of animal did you like the most? Was it fun to see the tiger going back and forth along the barrier, to see the tiger pass in front of you? But did you know that this tiger is starting to become or is already crazy in his head and he’s so stress to see you that he’s doing this «back and forth» behavior? In professional language, it is call an OCD (TOC in French), an obsessive compulsive disorder. This happen when you don’t let animals express behaviors they would have done in wild spaces.

I’ll give you some example to give you an idea of what I’m talking about: a monkey who is swing himself on a branch, tiger/wolf/panther (etc.) who go back and forth beside the barrier, an animal who stop eating a soon as there are people around him, or an animal who scratch off hair from his body. Those kinds of reactions are called «passive». There are also reactions that we call «active». It’s when an animal who think he’s in danger and scared at a high level. He could attack the gates, growl/shouting/barking/meowing/ roaring (make noises) when he see people (client or/and staff), can bite, etc.

To prevent that, there are some very simple ways to help animals. Like the quote from Albert Einstein says: « The World will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch and do nothing. »  A specialist in animal behaviors worldwide recognizes, Jacinthe Bouchard, knows what to do with animals behaviors and why people are so frequently mistaken. Mme Bouchard who is also accreditated by the AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) said: «An animal, even if you «domestic» him, stays an animal. It’s a wild creature who can come back to his first, natural and deeply buried instincts whenever he wants to. » She goes all around the world to help the zoos, aquariums or wildlife reserves to find unique ways to enrich the environment of different species of animals.

All the zoos and aquariums should have enrichment for their animals. The eight ways to enrich the animals are: food, artificial objects, browse, change in landscape, tactile, scents, auditory/sound and seasonal opportunities. Furthermore, the big zoos and aquariums can have the money to add a lot of those enrichments, but the smaller ones can not always. It’s why it is so important to give money, volunteer hours or «mouth to ear» publicity. Helping the zoos and aquariums around you and in the world can change or/ and save life of thousand of animals.

To summery, the AZA, as well as the WAZA (World Association of Zoos & Aquariums), is the best organization to make you connect with the zoos and aquariums around the world. Gandhi said that «we can judge the greatness of a nation by the way animals are treated» and he’s totally right. So make a little move to do a big change.