Zoos: A Blessing for Humans, But What About the Animals?”

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First of all, I’ve always had a deep love for animals.

That’s why I enjoy going to the zoo or any kind of recreational park where animals are kept. For me, one of the best things about these parks is the opportunity they give us to actually see wild animals up close because let's be real — if not for places like these, most people would never see animals like lions, giraffes, or vultures in real life. We’d probably only come across them on television or the internet. I mean, how many people are really willing to go deep into the wild just to see these animals? Very few, if any.

Personally, I’ve had the chance to visit about two zoos. The last one I visited was the zoological garden at the University of Ibadan (UI, sometime in 2023. It was during a school excursion, and it turned out to be a really fun and exciting experience. I enjoyed every bit of it because I got to see some animals I had never seen before. That was my first time coming face to face with animals like vultures, camels, raccoons, baboons, and even several reptiles. I was actually filled with excitement throughout the visit, and moreover seeing those animals so closely made me appreciate them even more.

But as much as I loved the experience, there were certain things that didn’t sit well with me. For instance, I noticed the camel looked really skinny — like it hadn’t been eating properly. In my opinion, it wasn't being fed well at all. The same thing with the vulture; it looked weak and malnourished. It made me feel bad. Unfortunately, this isn’t new in Nigeria. A lot of places that keep animals don’t take proper care of them. They just lock them up and leave them to suffer, all in the name of “displaying” them. Honestly, as someone who genuinely loves animals, I find that very heartbreaking. It's cruel. I strongly believe that if anyone knows that they can't take care of these animals properly, then maybe they should leave them in the wild, where they can survive naturally without human interference.

That being said, I still believe that keeping animals in zoos, when done the right way, has a lot of benefits. It allows people — especially students and kids — to learn more about these animals. It also gives researchers the chance to study them and possibly find ways to prevent their extinction. So yes, in some ways, it’s a good thing. But then the key point is that the animals must be well taken care of. Proper feeding, a clean environment, and general health care should be a priority. In my own opinion, if these things are not being done, then the whole purpose of keeping the animals is totally wrong.

I wish I had a clear picture from the excursion to show how much fun we had, but all I have is a video of some of the animals i came across, and sadly, it’s not so clear but then i would still drop it here.

Thanks for reading.