The IT angle is so obvious...
.. that only a complete nitwit could miss it.
Good work, El Reg!
A UK zoo has enforced an animal print ban, after visitors clad in tiger-like attire were found to be confusing and upsetting its captive creatures. Zebra, giraffe, leopard, cheetah and tiger are reportedly among the prints to have been outlawed by Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey. The zoo has hired people to police …
On an estate near me it's not the ubiquitous onesey that's the problem, it's the number of people walking their children to school while wearing pyjamas/nighties/dressing gowns and slippers. When they collect the children they are still in the same attire.
Where are the lions when you want one then.
Aren't most animals coulour blind or have at least have very little sense of colour or pattern. I was under the presumption that their sight was used in particular for movement and shape ?
Example : Many hunters now sport bright orange and yellow clothing in order to be seen be other hunters and this has not affected in the slightest the kill ratio... When hunting that which is most important is not having any smell and keeping very still...
Many animals are colour blind, especially pray animals. The reason for this, however, is that they have many more rods rather than cones. They have very sensitive perception of shape and pattern.
The whole reason animals have these patterns is to brake up there shape, which works well in there natural environment. Stripes blend with long grass. Squiggly dots with leaves etc. Not so much against the background of sky and concrete.
Hunters in the UK do not use florescent clothing, nor in most of Europe. The only people that do as a matter of course are hunters in the US because they have a habit of blasting away at anything that moves. But, generally, yes, allot of animals cannot see colour very well, but high contrast and harsh patterns are not a good idea. That is why they normally use one solid colour and make it in shapes that are not "human", with camo to hide the obviously "human" outline.
>>Predators tend to use 2 colour systems, prey tend to monochrome, we are unusual for mammals with 3 colour vision.
Some people have four colour vision (tetrochromats), an additional cone (in the yellowy orange sort of frequency), typically only women have it phenotypically expressed, often ending up in art/design type jobs, often never realising that they have a visual advantage.
I'm surprised to learn any animal actively participates in religion. I thought for sure they would be atheists. A complex philosophical belief system would be extremely taxing to an animal who must survive by preying on other living creatures. Perhaps they aren't too involved in details and just pray over their meals? Perhaps they also pray their prey won't give them indigestion. Much to consider now. I think I'll find a zookeeper and ask them about all this. I need some sort of verification.
During the mesozoic era, when the dinosaurs ruled the world, our mammal ancestors skulked around at night - and lost their colour vision. See.for example 'The Ancestor's Tale' by Dawkins, and other similar books.
The birds are the descendants of feathered dinosaurs, and have excellent colur vision, as someone else here has noted. Homo Sap has sort of regained colour vision, but with various problems.
While most mammals are colour blind and are specially attuned to detecting movement, , they still see patterns and can tell shades of grey.
Run a black sheep in amongst a flock of white sheep that has never seen a black sheep before and they will all run like hell even though it still smells exactly like a sheep.
The animals are probably more upset at not living in their natural environment and being kept in cramped cages.
Actually the problem is occurring because they've just developed a large open enclosure in which visitors can be driven around in a land rover to get closer to the animals and its people who do this (and I assume pay extra for this "safari experience") who are causing problems if dressed in "animal print" style clothing and as a result some of the animals get a little too close while they investigate (report I read mentioned one of the giraffe's sticking his head into the back of the vehicle)
I support zoos and contribute a lot to the National Zoo in DC. It is important for children especially to actually see the things they've learned about. It gives them a broader picture of the world. Their educational value is huge. The animals are not happy though.
Why do you think so many captive breeding programs fail? The animals know they are safe and no longer feel a need to reproduce? Have they adopted the lifestyles of upper middle class Humans in developed nations? No. They're fucking miserable.
Saying that 25 acres is plenty of room is ridiculous. That's trying to impose Human views onto animals and that just doesn't work. People on this very site complain about having to ride in cramped subway cars or even stand upright for 30 minutes! I'm not sure views can be successfully translated onto an animal who has few natural boundaries and spends most of its time walking/running...
Hold on I have to issues with your Paragraph
1. The animals are not happy though. Why do you think so many captive breeding programs fail? The animals know they are safe and no longer feel a need to reproduce?
Which likely by definition means they are less stressed, although I'd argue that there's all sorts of factors that effect breeding programs - some animals need stress, some don't some need the right temps all sorts of things.
2. Saying that 25 acres is plenty of room is ridiculous. That's trying to impose Human views onto animals and that just doesn't work.
If you can't impose human views on animals doesn't that negate point 1 about the animals being happy or not anyway?
Biggest shame is that we are likely to be needing zoos to keep wild populations away from extinction
Either that or they see the humans as the Ed Geins of the giraffe world. (*)
(*) Is it still as horrendous if it's inter-species? And does it work the other way round- if we saw what we thought was a serial-killing giraffe wearing the skin of a human he'd killed, would we be shocked or would it be a cute/funny "...and finally" item on News at Ten? And is this whole question in in very poor taste?
From an animal behaviour view this is just poppycock. Confusing an animal by wearing a leopard skin dress is about as likely as you or I mistaking a dog for human because it was wearing a hat.
What's happened here is the Chessington marketing department have opened a new safari adventure type thing and have looked for a way to drum up publicity.
They put this ban in place as a way of developing a novel press release angle and the BBC lapped it up, giving Chessington World of Adventure all the publicity they needed for their new attraction all over the main bulletins.
I would have thought the Reg would have been a bit more savvy. Oh well.
Indeed, there are few animals who rely only on a single sense to determine threat. Smell, overall changes in ambient environmental variables, sound, are all utilized as part of making that determination. You've got to meet two or more threat criteria before a threat response is indicated. Otherwise people would be eaten more often by things like squirrels, stoats and snakes. Animals aren't nearly as panicky as Humans.
"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know."
Possibly you were very, very drunk and thought it might impress the girlfriend if you got the elephant to hang his trunk out of your flies?
Downside: (i) It's grey and wrinkled.
Upsides: (i) Impresses her even more when she sees you can pick up peanuts with it. (ii) Dramatic, er "money shot" potential. (iii) She doesn't give a damn about it being grey and wrinkled.
All their 4x4's are painted like this in animal stripes.
http://www.wow247.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/West-Midland-Safari-Park.jpg
The poor animals must be scared witless, well except the elephant in the photo, he doesn't seem bothered by a Tiger nearly as big as him.
Errr...Camelflage?