Prisoner

Day with kids at the (thankfully free) Nogeyama Zoo in Yokohama today. Old zoo, small cages, very intimate proximity with the animals possible though uncomfortable. Indeed they are basically “on display” in the old zoo sense of living museum exhibits, they cannot hide seek a private space away from the prying eyes of the visitor. In fact they cannot do much of anything really. Not the worst zoo I’ve been in Japan and much better than many other similar municipal zoos across Asia, but just a little sad to see the animals so unhappy and their feelings and needs beyond food and shelter so ignored, like this lonely, bored chimpanzee above.

More and more I feel animals, especially primates, should not be kept in captivity. Though some zoo do it really well and without such often benevolent protection: where a paying public is shown, inspired and educated about some of these animals, many, particularly the large primates like Gorillas, Orangutans and chimpanzees would be in an even more perilous position in the wild than they are now.

Hate these cages though.

This photo essay by Jonathon Bowman does a good job of showing some of the inhumanity of our treatment of primates just a few DNA twists and bridges short of humans themselves.

Mind you you should should see how we treat humans over at the FCCT-On Asia photojournalism award.

Powerful stuff. Makes you weep.

Congrats to Rob Gilhooly for is honourable mention for a shocking image from Mount Fuji’s suicide forest in this stunningly good collection of winners.

Later

Damon

More images of wild animals and zoos both good and bad at my archive here: