The girls go to the zoo

_Elsa_

Well everything for the wedding is in place and Rachel doesn’t know what to do with her free time. She goes online to see what’s going on in the Candy Kingdom. She comes across an article about the zoo. She has never been to a zoo before so begins to read the article.

‘A number of zoos around the world are reporting that their animals are becoming "lonely" without visitors. Zoos have had to close to members of the public due to Covid-19.

• At Phoenix Zoo, keepers have lunch dates with elephants and orangutans, and one sociable bird needs frequent visits. Primates have gone looking for missing visitors. 

• Dublin Zoo said animals were also "wondering what's happened to everyone". 

• At Orana Wildlife Park in New Zealand, rhinos and giraffes were turning up for their scheduled "meet the public" appearances.

• Phoenix Zoo reported a change in behaviour in their animals. Linda Hardwick, communications director told the BBC: "We have noticed that some of our more "social" animals are not a fan of the stay at home and social distancing orders. Primates especially have noticed our guests are gone and go looking for them."

Without visitors, some animals lack stimulation, Paul Rose, lecturer in animal behaviour at the University of Exeter, told the BBC. "Some individuals, such as primates and parrots get a lot of enrichment from viewing and engaging with visitors. It is beneficial to the animal's wellbeing and quality of life. If this stimulation is not there, then the animals are lacking the enrichment," he said.

• At Phoenix Zoo, keepers are trying to spend as much time as possible with the animals, Ms Hardwick said.

At the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge in the UK, staff are continuing to engage with the ducks and geese in the same manner as the public would. The team hand feed grain to birds and walk around the enclosures to ensure the animals are used to having people around.’ (Source)

“Now that is sad,” thinks Rachel. “I wonder if Tiffi would be interested in going to the zoo with me I don’t think that Rancid would be interested.”

Let’s continue - Some of the history