I didn't die in the tiger's mouth, thanks to this thing in the zoo

Key Points

★ Wildlife parks often use concealed isolation measures, such as trenches and electric grass, to ensure safety while not affecting viewing.

★ Feeding animals can also be dangerous and may make them fat.

★ If you accidentally enter an animal activity area, do not panic, run around or scream, protect your vital organs, throw things to attract its attention, and get a rabies vaccine as soon as possible if you are injured.

There was a news report before: "A tourist got off the car at the self-driving tour exhibition area of ​​Beijing Wildlife Park, then climbed over the white tiger's isolation facilities and confronted the white tiger at close range. During the confrontation, he kept shouting loudly and made very exaggerated movements to provoke the white tiger." Fortunately, the tigers watching had no intention of having another meal, and the man was eventually taken away safely.

The man provokes the white tiger. | Source: Internet

Although the man was lucky, there are many tragic precedents of this dangerous behavior in China. In 2015, a female tourist got off the car by herself while visiting the white tiger park in Qinhuangdao Wildlife Park in Hebei Province and was bitten to death. In 2017, a male tourist was attacked by a tiger in Ningbo Yager Wildlife Park and died after being sent to the hospital. Even in urban zoos, there is a giant panda named "Gugu" in Beijing Zoo. During 2006-2012, it bit tourists who climbed over the isolation facilities and entered the activity area without permission five times...

In these zoo animal-injury accidents, the main factor is the lack of safety awareness of tourists, ignoring the management regulations of the zoo, climbing over the isolation facilities and entering the animal cages or activity areas. Of course, the zoo is also responsible for poor management. However, when many friends watched the video of this accident, they would wonder: Why didn’t the zoo build isolation facilities for the tiger?

01

The zoo's secluded isolation facility

In fact, this is an improvement in the design of animal cages in zoos. I remember when I was a child, in the 1990s, the cages such as Monkey Mountain and Bear Mountain in Beijing Zoo were all "big pits". People stood behind the concrete walls and looked down to watch the animals. Of course, there were also uncivilized people throwing food to feed the animals, and animals such as wild beasts and pheasants were mostly kept in metal cages.

A deer in a cage. | Tuchong Creative

Cages and nets will affect visitors' sight, so most zoos now use hidden isolation facilities, which are easily overlooked by visitors and do not block their sight. This can ensure the isolation of people and animals without affecting visitors' viewing, and can also make people and animals look at each other at eye level, avoiding the animals looking up at visitors and causing tension.

The most commonly used form of concealed isolation facility in zoos is the trench, which can be divided into two types: dry trench and water trench. As the name suggests, the water trench is a trench with water injected into it, which plays a role similar to a "moat" and is used for animals that generally do not like water, such as chimpanzees, gorillas and other primates.

The trench must be set up scientifically. For example, the width of the trench must be considered to exceed the maximum jumping ability and maximum vertical climbing ability of the animals. The V-shaped trench is usually a gentle slope with a small angle on the playground side, which is beneficial for animals to avoid injuries when they accidentally enter the trench and to return to the playground; the tourist area side is a steep slope with a large angle to prevent animals from climbing.

Dry trenches are usually supplemented with other facilities such as tree stumps, stones, fences, etc. For example, ungulates are unwilling to move on sharp stones and find it difficult to climb large rocks. Therefore, a circle of stones can be placed on the edge of the trench to isolate the ungulates.

In this accident, we saw that when the tourists confronted the white tiger, the white tiger did not move forward, and there seemed to be some thin wire-like objects between the tourists and the white tiger. This is a kind of isolation equipment commonly used in zoos: electric grass.

Electric grass can be considered a special kind of electric grid. There is a stick in the middle with many filamentous wires extending outward. It looks like a bush made of iron wire, or like an inverted head massager. The electric grass used by zoos generally carries weak electricity. Animals will not be hurt when they are electrocuted, but will only feel uncomfortable or awkward. When animals are electrocuted too many times when crossing the boundary, they will form the consciousness of "this is the boundary". It is easy to see the electric grass around the elephant house playground of Beijing Zoo. It is said that this equipment was originally used for livestock fencing.

Electric grass is like an inverted head massager. | From the author

Because of its short height and thin branches, electric grass is not easy for tourists to find, and it is less harmful to animals, so it is a very effective isolation method. It is precisely because of the laying of electric grass that the white tiger did not pounce on the tourists in this news. Although the tourist was lucky enough to escape the tiger's mouth, he could not escape the punishment of the law. According to subsequent reports, the tourist has been detained by the Beijing Daxing Public Security Bureau.

02

Don't feed the animals!

Everyone knows the dangers of jumping out of the car and having "close contact" with animals, but there is another seemingly less dangerous thing that can threaten the safety of tourists and the health of animals, and that is feeding. Whether you feed animals through the car window in a wildlife park or through the cage in a zoo, tourists are at risk of being injured by animals. This is easy to understand and I won't say more.

Source Network

Why would feeding animals hurt them if it is obviously for their own good? For zoos, feeding from tourists is actually a very troublesome problem. First of all, it should be noted that the animals in most zoos in China are not hungry. The keepers will feed them feed in a scientifically proportioned manner at regular intervals, so we don’t need to worry about the animals going hungry. However, the snacks and other foods we feed are often too high in calories and salt. The animals in captivity have limited exercise, which can cause them to gain weight easily and affect their health. Therefore, zoos are prohibited from feeding animals.

Feeding animals makes them fat. | Tuchong Creative

Generally, zoos will take measures such as isolation or dissuasion when visitors feed the animals.

Isolation is generally achieved by installing glass walls, setting up blocking facilities, and increasing the distance between trenches. However, the wisdom of tourists who feed the animals seems to be endless. Some tourists even carry slingshots to shoot feed into cages, or stuff finer food such as noodles into cages through small holes in the isolation net to feed them.

Another way is to dissuade tourists. In the past, zoos would increase patrols and dissuade tourists who behaved uncivilized. Now many zoos have increased the deployment of surveillance cameras and installed loudspeakers next to the cameras. Once the monitoring room finds uncivilized behavior, it can immediately remind tourists. If tourists still insist on doing so, the monitoring room will dispatch the nearest patrol personnel to stop them.

03

What should I do if I accidentally enter an animal activity area?

Driving through the animal activity area in a wildlife park, with wild animals walking around the car, is indeed a very pleasant sight, but the risk is still very high. The repeated safety accidents are an important reason why many wildlife parks give up providing this kind of tour and keep the animals in enclosures. So when visiting a wildlife park that you can drive into, remember not to get out of the car or open the window to ensure safety.

In addition, if you enter an animal enclosure by mistake or accident, please note the following:

1. Stay calm, don't panic, and don't run or shout. Running may stimulate the predator's desire. Most quadrupeds run faster than us, so running away is unlikely to get you away. Shouting may irritate the animal and be dangerous. You should wait quietly for the arrival of rescuers.

2. Don't make any overly dramatic movements. Slowly raise your hands, but don't wave them around. This will make you look bigger and make the animal less likely to attack you. Then slowly back away until you're against a wall, but don't turn your back to the beast.

3. If a beast attacks you, don't try to fight it, because humans are completely different from it. The muscle structure of carnivores is completely evolved for hunting, and our strength is completely different from its. At this time, you can only squat down with your hands on your head, protecting your neck and other important organs to avoid being bitten. If the beast attacks defensively, it is likely to retreat after a tentative attack.

Lions fighting. | Tuchong Creative

4. You can find an object, such as a mobile phone, and throw it at the leopard to attract its attention, and then take the opportunity to retreat. In a documentary about African lions, someone used a roll of toilet paper to attract the lion's attention and then retreated safely.

5. Herbivores are also dangerous. Because they are heavy and timid, they can cause serious harm when they hit, butt, kick, or bite people, so don't do anything drastic. If the animal is not aggressive, you should walk slowly to a wall or an isolation trench and wait for rescue.

6. Small animals may scratch or bite people. If injured, be sure to get a rabies vaccine as soon as possible.

The purpose of visiting the zoo is to relax and have fun. If an accident happens, our body and mind will be hurt, and our lives may even be in danger. Therefore, we must visit the zoo in a civilized manner, abide by the zoo's regulations, and follow the instructions of the staff. Only in this way can we have a pleasant trip to the zoo.

Author | Li Weiyang, a popular science writer, has published works on Guokr.com, State Forestry Administration, China National Geographic, "Bowu" magazine, Juvenile Science Magazine, etc.

Review | Huang Chengming, Researcher, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Editor | Jiang Fan

Editor | Ding Zong

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