With humans staying at home in lockdown with loved ones, the Zoos have their doors closed to visitors.

It makes you wonder if they are also going nuts like we are? Yet they are behind closed doors, cages, and walls all the time, so they used to it. The thing is, how are they coping without human interaction.

Someone on Reddit enquired how are the animals reacting now that there are no visitors, so they asked zookeepers. The inquiry posted on r/AskReddit had a load of interest, which proves it is something the people are genuinely interested in knowing.

London Zoo told Bored Panda how lockdown was affecting them. As they have about 18,000 animals that need feeding and looking after, the staff have to cycle to work and live in the repurposed Zoo lodges, which was home for visitors to experience an overnight stay at the Zoo.

#1

An emu that loves everyone and makes friends quickly with new keepers and visitors became gloomy for a few days. He definitely was not acting like his usual cheerful self.

Therefore, the zookeepers asked people from other departments to stop by and behave like a visit by taking pictures and make as though him the center of attention. He has been thoroughly loving it.

#2

A fully grown white tiger was only too happy to see people as he started jumping around like a puppy when he saw people.

https://pexels.com (Not the actual photo)

#3

A fox that used to spend time hiding in the back holding area to avoid screaming children has now become more relaxed and is enjoying basking in the sun.

#4

Ocean Park in Hong Kong, the Pandas, are finally getting it on. They were probably too shy while there were visitors 😉

Copyright ©Ocean Park

#5

An aquarium keeper said that there is a distinct change. The fish are not as stressed as there are no longer children stomping around and banging on the glass.

The octopus has become friendlier, and instead of hiding daily from people, enjoys playing with baby toys.

#6

The gorillas miss watching the people, so they have a tv with movies for entertainment.

https://pixabay.com/ (Not the actual photo)

#7

At the one Zoo, the capuchins couldn’t have bamboo sticks because they would stab through the bars at people. Now they are free to stab as much as they want.

#8

The apes, birds, and cats get excited when any of the staff walk past. A particular snow leopard is sad due to the lack of people visiting him daily.

https://pixabay.com/ (Not the actual photo)

#9

The great apes’ behavior has changed as they were generally very interactive with visitors. They were climbing high and scanning the area looking for people.

#10

The bird keeper said the penguins weren’t sure if it was feeding time as no people were watching them. They are little exhibitionists. Yet they did adjust after a few days.

https://pixabay.com/ (Not the actual photo)

#11

Parrots miss the visitors as they loved flirting with them.

#12

The tigers are more relaxed because we have been able to do a lot more fun stuff.

https://pixabay.com/ (Not the actual photo)

#13

Taronga Zoo, the seals, are looking through the glass for people, while the tigers will pace in front of the viewing window for 40 minutes.

#14

The giraffes are a bit suspicious without the visitors. The gorillas, on the other hand, are spending more time outside as they don’t like visitors.

https://pixabay.com/ (Not the actual photo)

Zoos are not evil places; many of these animals are rescued and could not be released back into the wild for some reason or other.

It is wonderful that some of the animals enjoy visitors. Yet, it would be better if there were guidelines that people could sign before entering the Zoo. At the same time, visitors are the lifeline so the Zoos can keep functioning.

Animals in Zoos have grown accustomed to having people around them. Having the ability to interact with visitors is extremely important for some of them. Some animals get noticeably depressed when there are fewer visitors. They get depressed in winter times as well.

Without the visitors, the animals are pretty much confused. Petting Zoo animals, in particular, would get very needy at this time.

It is a great time to learn about the impact people have on animals behind walls, cages, doors, and glass, as it could help improve the lives of these animals.

A shoutout to all the staff that is working hard to make sure the animal’s lives are as normal as possible.