Friday, April 18, 2014

Online Research Of Space

The Los Angeles Zoo first opened in the year 1966. With 133 acres of land, it currently houses over one thousand animals. The Los Angeles Zoo is meant to attract anyone who wants to catch a glimpse of these exotic animals. The whole goal of this place is to allow people to have a chance to observe these wild animals do what they do up close and personal in a secure and safe environment. This is more to serve as entertainment. By doing so they decorate every cage to make it look more like the animal’s natural habitat. The Zoo also attempts to attract people do to educational purposes. People, who want to study animals, by observing the way the animals behave with other animals, are able to do so in the Los Angeles ZOO. The Zoo claims that not only are they helping people have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of these animals, but that they are also helping these animals from harm. The wild is full of danger and the risk of death is high, but the Zoo claims that by capturing these animals, they are allowing the animals to do they normally do in a more secure and safer environment.
After conducting my own research, what I theorized in person supports the envisioned purpose of the space itself. As I entered the Zoo, I felt as if I was able to observe these animals safely. It was very entertaining to see all these different species of animals due to the fact that I rarely see then so up close in person. Some of the animals that I have observed have recently gone through surgery. This allowed myself to become fully aware at the fact that the animals are being taken care of, and that their health handled properly

Word Count: 302

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Observations At The Zoo

  • The Zoo consists of over 100 acres of land, housing over 200 different species of animals. 
  • Walking in to the Zoo, you can hear the sounds of children laughing with delight as they watch the animals in aw. 
  • A lot of different people walking. Families, young couples going on dates, and classes of young children with their teachers going on a field trip. 
  • One of the first things you smell as you walk in, is the humidity. The feel of water vapor instantly fills the air. 
  • As you continue to walk you start to notice the intense heat of the area. The sun seems to feel a lot stronger here at the Zoo. 
  • Very little animals are seen at first. Just a small cage of flamingos and another cage consisting of just one alligator. You mostly see the gift shops and small food courts. Even start to notice food stands, offering snacks and drinks. 
  • We saw signs outside some of the smaller cages informing us that some of the rodent-like animals have recently gone through surgery. You can't help but ponder on the living condition of the animal.
  • As you start walking past the food courts, you instantly start to smell food, mostly meat and different kinds of pork. You see young children eating burgers and hot dogs. Some are eating churros and drinking soda. 
  • After the food courts you start to encounter the bigger animals, such as the giraffe and the elephants. Looking at these giant animals, you start to notice the stench of the animal's excrement.  It feels a lot hotter in this part of the zoo due to the lack of humidity. 
  • In this part of the Zoo you start to hear the sounds of chimpanzees. The cage of the chimpanzee is a lot bigger, housing a lot more animals. They tend to be more active than the other animals. They are usually seen jumping and running around. 
  • The big cats such as the lion and the tigers, are a lot less active. They are usually seen sleeping or resting. Rarely are they seen walking around.
  • Everywhere you walk there are a lot of plants, trees, and other vegetation. Decorated to look a lot like a jungle.
  • There are cages for exotic insects as well. Kept indoors in an area decorated to look like a cave. Walking inside, you instantly feel a much cooler temperature. Very little light is seen. You feel a slight eerie feeling walking in as your irises try to adjust to the dark environment. 
  • The gift shops are filled with T shirts, smalls plush toys, puppets, necklaces, as well as other merchandises. The majority of the people in these gift shops are small children. You hear the sounds of them cheering as they run up grabbing whatever captures their attention.
  • The whole time you can hear different kinds of animals calling in the distance. The sounds of birds, primates, and large animals such as elephants really causes visitors to be excited for what they are about to see.