Wild at the Franklin Park Zoo

Last weekend my dad, sisters and I went to the Franklin Park Zoo, which I hadn’t been to in years. Previous visits to zoos have consisted of rather uneventful animal watching. The animals just sort of sit there (and understandably - how happy and active would you be if you were stuck in a pen?). Last weekend, however, there was a ton of exciting stuff going on! The leopards were mating, the lion could not stop roaring, the gorillas were swinging on ropes and watching us just as much as we were watching them, and a goose almost killed a black swan.

During the visit I caught myself a couple times thinking about how horrible of a place it is. These animals that are meant to be thousands and thousands of miles away (definitely not in Boston) are trapped. On the other hand, I know that zoos across the country do so much good. They help educate people about animals and conservation. They also help in breeding endangered species and rescuing injured animals or animals that can no longer survive in the wild.

Based on previous visits as a kid, I remembered that the Franklin Park Zoo wasn’t the “cream of the crop” of zoos by any means, but that didn’t really matter as much this time around. Its been a few days and I’m still thinking about the few moments where I made eye contact with some of the gorillas - amazing. I realized that as an adult visiting the zoo, you have a much greater appreciation of the animals. And I’m sure the hundreds of Animal Planet and Discovery Channel shows I’ve watched in my adult life could have had something to do with this as well