We visited Copenhagen Zoo – “the wildest place in town”, checking out the lions and polar bears, elephants and zebras. Part of the zoo has been recently renovated with new habitats for the elephants, the African prairy animals and the hippopotamus. The change is very positive making these habitats much more attractive to both animals and human spectators.
The youngsters are always popular, making the zebras and the sea lions a must see. Specially the sea lions which have a very cute little cub. While many of the large animals with the big dangerous teeth may be impressive to see in real life, the petting zoo is usually the winner for the children, where they can pet the goats, play rabbits and ride ponies. Anything that’s hands on for kids is the most fun.
Not as attractive was the polar bear cage. Some animals seem to have even a better live in captivity than out in the wild, but others are really sad to see. The polar bears fall into that category. Used to having a whole North Pole to cross, being able to swim tens of kilometers and having wide open spaces as far as the eye can reach, no cage can do them justice. They’re pretty much like a whale in a fish bowl. It’s no wonder some animal activists cheered when a polar bear was shot in Iceland recently in a failed attempt to save him, when saving him could have meant putting him into that small space in Copenhagen Zoo. It’s not that I don’t have faith in what they’re doing at Copenhagen Zoo, I just don’t think some animals should be in any cage at all. Set up a movie screen with some amazing footage of the animals in stead, info and even a dead example of the animal. It’ll never be the same, but that doesn’t have to mean it’ll be any worse.
If you want to experience safari animals in more open spaces, there’s a safari park in Lolland, south of Sealand called Knuthenborg Park & Safari where you can drive in and see the animals in “open” spaces. Another interesting place is the Danmarks Akvarium in Charlottenlund.
Hjörtur
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