I’ve heard there are national parks out here where you can see wild animals roam free. I definitely intend to check them out at some point. But this first month, I’ve pretty much stuck around Bangalore. Yesterday I went to the Bannerghatta Zoo within Bannerghatta National Park, just outside the city. My expectations were relatively low.
My personal zoo perspective is a little biased, I admit. I was spoiled early on. I grew up visiting the Bronx Zoo, which is expertly designed and well-maintained. There are a few wrought iron cages around (at least there were the last time I visited) but they’re mostly relics of an earlier age when animals were treated as things, not as living creatures. For the most part, the animals now live in habitats similar to their homes in the wild, though with more viewing areas and the occasional monorail drive-by.
Thus, I compare every zoo I visit to the Bronx Zoo, which I realize is unfair. But still, it’s how I look at it. Even the renowned San Diego Zoo was (surprisingly) a step below. So going into Bannerghatta, I was just hoping the animals didn’t look too miserable and the cages wouldn’t be unconscionably small. Ideally there wouldn’t be “cages” at all, but I knew that was a longshot.
Before I went into the zoo portion of Bannerghatta, I decided to take one of their “grand safari” rides. You just know it’ll be a traditional safari when you step onto a thirty year-old minibus with steely mesh windowguards. They also offered some sort of “elephant safari.” I don’t know if it involved riding an elephant (which would have been cool) or else just riding out to SEE elephants, but either way, it wasn’t available that day. Bummer.
My American friend went to Bannerghata a month ago. He said the ride-along tour guide had ushered him into the very best seat when he got on the bus, the one in the front row. Clearly because he was American, he got preferential treatment (often a reality here – I’ve grown to accept it even as I continue to despise it). And of course since he’d had such a prime seat, he was “obligated” to give the guide a healthy tip.
So anyway, when I got on the minibus, the tour guide ushered me to the front. Big surprise. But instead of sitting in the very front seat, I sat one row back. I figured someone else could get more enjoyment out of sitting in the front than me. And sure enough, two little kids ended up moving there halfway through the ride. And they were definitely more into the safari experience than I was. I mean, I enjoyed it. It was fine. We just drove from one fenced-in natural area to another, the minibus stopping whenever a (most often sleeping) wild animal was nearby. Then everyone would feverishly take pictures. Camera phone-toting adults jostling one another for the best angle, most often in the front seat area that I had smartly avoided.
The areas we drove through were wooded and mostly natural, save for the water troughs. The animals had a fair amount of land to roam. We saw lionesses, tigers (including a couple white tigers), some sleeping bears and a few other animals. Nothing I hadn’t seen before but it was all right.
After the ride was over, the guide jumped out of the minibus as we all prepared to exit. But before I could get up, the guide talked to me (only me) through the window. “Tip, tip” he said. I pretended to not understand so he repeated himself. I rolled my eyes (at least on the inside) and reached into my wallet, giving him 70 rupees. I thought he had a bit of nerve to only ask me for a tip. Every single person on that bus got the exact same tour and I hadn’t even taken that preferred front seat. Yet I was still expected to be the one tipping. The money wasn’t even the issue – 70 rupees is like a dollar fifty. I just didn’t appreciate the inequity of the whole thing. But then, I didn’t come here to change the system. This is what they do here. Hence the 70 rupees.
I proceeded into the actual zoo portion of the park. The first thing I saw was a cage. A cylindrical, wrought iron cage with bears in it and very little else. Just the kind of thing I was hoping I wouldn’t see, even if I was expecting it.
Then I saw an elephant. Its pen looked pretty big and naturalistic with a barn-like structure and a decent-sized area to move around in. Then I saw the chains around the elephant’s feet, the ones that only let it move within a five foot radius from the big wooden stake in the ground. Sad…
I continued on and saw a bunch of monkeys. Wild monkeys roaming freely. Walking in front of me so close I could pet one if I wanted to. Not that I would be doing that. It’d be like trying to pick up a squirrel back in the states (an apt comparison since wild monkeys are nearly as commonplace as squirrels back home). It was a whole family of monkeys – or maybe a few families. I enjoyed watching a couple monkey children playing in a tree. And watching another monkey pick food out of a garbage can. As he ripped into an old bag of chips, I went to take a picture. But before I could, I felt something wet on my neck. Did it start raining? Did a bird drop a bomb on me? No. I looked up in a tree and saw an angry, howling mama monkey cradling her baby, feeling threatened and in a protective mode. I can’t prove it but I’m pretty sure she spit on me.
It’s interesting seeing cultural differences here. While I dug watching the wild monkeys, the local zoo visitors barely noticed them. But they were fascinated by the deer. Yes, deer. Different perspectives for different cultures.
I saw another cage. This one had – of all things – monkeys in it. Two of them. I’m not sure what species but they were definitely different (and funnier looking) than the wild monkeys. I wondered how they must have felt being trapped in a cage while watching the wild monkeys gallivanting freely. I wondered if the wild monkeys ever came by and mocked the caged ones, throwing rotten bananas and feces at them. Monkey inequality. That is so wrong.
By the edge of the zoo, I saw a small group of elephants all packed together, eating and being tended to by zoo people. As I got closer, I saw that the elephants were in chains, even more than were worn by the single elephant in the pen. People were getting their pictures taken with a shackled elephant but I declined this when asked. I snapped some shots, but mostly focusing on the chains. I wished that the elephants could all escape and run off into the wild somewhere. Or else go to this place.
Am I being a hypocrite? I mean, I would totally ride an elephant. And I have enjoyed the occasional circus. But to see miserable animals living in cramped spaces really gets to me. Who are we to cage meant-to-be-free creatures for our own selfish viewing? And by paying my money to get in, I’m supporting the practice. At the same time, many zoos do terrific conservation work and help bring back endangered species (I’ve learned Bannerghatta has done a lot of positive things for tigers and other jungle cats. But that’s not the kind of thing you get to see at the zoo itself). And there is something to be said for getting to see a wild animal in person, when their natural habitat is actually a hemisphere away. I dunno…zoos just bring up mixed feelings.
Okay, getting off my high horse now…
One of the last things to check out was the hippopotamus exhibit. I checked it out. Four large hippos. One small concrete pool of water. It was time to leave the zoo.
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