On the surface zoos seem like really fun places to see exotic animals you can also
sometimes even interact with the animals yourself and many zoos advertise themselves as sanctuaries
protecting rare species but it's not all sunshine and happy animals like zoos present
in fact there are many dark secrets that zoos and zookeepers may not want you to know
i've done some digging and found some things most zoogoers know nothing about from secret
protocols used when animals attack humans to some zoos completely deceiving their customers
fake animals zoos often have lots of rare animals but next time you're at your local zoo make sure
you give those exotic animals a second look they may not be what the zeus says they are that's
right some zoos actually pretend animals are other animals to draw in more customers zoos are meant
for entertainment at the end of the day sometimes exotic animals can be very hard to get they can be
too rare or expensive to buy and in some countries they may be illegal or have lots of regulations
for example some animals legally need a certain amount of space or a certain environment the zoo
can't provide so that's why they sometimes use stand-ins these are fake or knock-off versions
of animals they may be a different breed which the zoo says is another breed some zoos even
disguise common animals as exotic animals one chinese zoo was caught displaying a tibetan
mastiff posing as an african lion they also said that rats and giant sea cucumbers were snakes
and they even dressed up dogs as leopards and timberwolves because you couldn't walk right up
to the animals and they were behind a cage many believed the zoo but when some reporters exposed
the zoo they had to pay many fines this may sound crazy but it's a lot more common than you think
kill on sight zoos are normally pretty safe but in any zoo there are animals and animals can be
dangerous and unpredictable every year there's around 100 injuries due to animals in zoos
and each year around two of these are fatal if an animal ever starts to attack a human then
zookeepers know what to do that's because they have secret protocols depending on the animal
every zoo has a group of animals that are so dangerous they're called kos this means kill
on signs this means that if they escape their enclosures or attack somebody then the zookeepers
have to take them out immediately these lists are normally pretty surprising what we may think of
as the most dangerous animals are not on them for example lions and tigers are not kos that's
because it's much easier and safer to tranquilize and capture the animal also these animals are very
expensive so shooting them would be a huge loss silverback gorillas are tranquilized first but
if that doesn't work then they are kos but there is one animal that is kill on sight at every zoo
and that is the chimpanzee chimpanzees are very unpredictable and can be absolutely brutal in
a recent video we covered how a very well-trained and famous chimp randomly attacked a woman one day
they may look small but are incredibly strong and could defeat even the strongest human they're
also insanely fast so any tranquilizer darts would likely miss but the main reason they're
kos is because tranquilizers only annoy chimps even more also tranquilizers won't take effect
on chimps right away this means they could have already eaten someone's entire face by the time
the tranquilizer works most zookeepers won't even wait until the chimp attacks someone if it escapes
roadside zoos if you're taking a trip to a zoo then you'd better make sure it's not a roadside
zoo most of the time animals at roadside zoos are treated even worse than at regular zoos
animals at roadside suits are normally not kept in their natural environment whatsoever
concrete pens are very common the animals often have no stimulation whatsoever
except perhaps a rotten log or an old car tyre to keep them occupied roadside suits act a lot
less like sanctuaries than normal zoos they are built as impulse attractions this means they're
designed to attract passersby on busy roads and they normally go to great lengths to try
and attract passing cars this is sometimes to the detriment of the animal's well-being
also many of these roadside zoos are not accredited or checked by any third-party
organization this means you don't really know how they work and how the animals are kept
zoochosis being in a bad or unfamiliar environment is very bad for the human mind for example many
people who are in prison or at war develop mental illnesses and the same is true for animals in zoos
captive animals often suffer from a mental illness known as zoochosis symptoms include the animals
becoming depressed bored and lonely this condition is so rampant in zoos that animals are often given
mood altering substances this includes things like prozac which are normally given to humans this is
not the case in every zoo but how can you tell if an animal you're looking at in a zoo has zoochosis
well there are several symptoms that you can watch out for one is the animals bobbing their heads
another is constant pacing around their enclosures overgrooming is another thing
to watch out for for example if animals are constantly cleaning themselves or they're young
animals biting the bars of their cages is another symptom and some animals experiencing
zotrosis even injure themselves on purpose the term zootrosis was coined by bill travers
this was in his 1992 documentary which examines the harsh effects of captivity on animals
surplus animals many zoos have what are called surplus animals these are basically animals that
the zoos don't want if you've seen the netflix documentary tiger king you may remember joe
exotic had to put down various tigers that's because he simply did not have the money to
keep them alive and feeding them well zoos have that exact same problem sometimes zoos
don't have enough space for the animals or they cease being cute or useful for breeding purposes
sadly this often results in what's known as zoothenasia this is where zoos have to take
animals lives sadly sometimes these animals are even fed to fellow zoo inhabitants or at other
times surplus animals are sold to other zoos or animal dealers thankfully these practices are not
common at certified u.s zoos but at overseas zoos and also uncertified zoos this is common
bad parents it's pretty clear that being in captivity is not good for most wild animals
as a result animals begin to not act like their normal selves one very clear example of this is
animals becoming much worse parents when in captivity zoo animals sometimes reject their
young purely of bad vibes this means they're young and not socialized properly and this can lead to
them being very dangerous when they're older stress animals often experience a heightened
sense of stress when in captivity this was perfectly highlighted one day at a zoo in sweden
a military jet flew over the zoo this caused the animals in the zoo to get so stressed they ate
23 of their babies stress is also a symptom of zootosis that we spoke about earlier
fake sanctuaries there is a big difference between a zoo and a sanctuary however some zoos masquerade
the sanctuaries to seem more ethical and also not all sanctuaries are the non-profit organizations
that they appear to be some sanctuaries breed for non-conservation reasons which means
they're not really a sanctuary sanctuaries should never breed animals just for display
there are no regulations over the word sanctuary meaning that the term is used very loosely
and even a zoo which doesn't give their animals quality care can use the term so beware bad food
some zoos feed their animals good quality food but animals will never get the right
food that they're supposed to eat when in the wild in the wild animals choose which
plants they eat and which prey they hunt but in captivity they are fed whatever humans give them
many zoos give their animals pre-packaged and heavily processed foods they basically
are given the equivalent of tv dinners a lot of this food does not even need to be chewed
this can cause bad dental hygiene and weak mouth muscles in carnivores like tigers and lions
that's because those animals actually eat with their teeth to keep them clean
hopefully this video has not put you off zoos or sanctuaries completely some are great places but
it's important you always do your research make sure that the animals are given great care and
great food and whether they're in captivity or out in the wild always treat animals with love
care and respect but now it's time to make your voice heard comment down below do you think that
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