A Zoo like No Other

If you ever wondered what a zoo in the States would look like if there were no lawyers or animal rights activists, head to Burma.  The Yangon Zoological Garden is quite a scene and was at the top of our places to revisit while in town.

When we visited in 2006 we were just amazed by the enclosures that the animals are kept it.  The Vietnam zoo looks like Fort Knox compared to the one in Yangon.  Most of the cages that the animals are kept in are within an arm’s length of the protective fences.  Sometimes not even that far.  During our visit I fed a deer, a monkey and an elephant.  It’s also possible to feed the hippos but it was a little too hot for them to leave the water when we walked past.

Feeding the elephants was the most amazing experience.  Ascending the stairs I saw the great giants lined up on the concrete pad swaying back and forth as if they were dancing for their treats.  A man in a small stand sold baskets of 8 bamboo sticks for just over $1.  As I finished purchasing the sticks the elephants let out a loud call as if they were shouting, “Give it to me!”  I didn’t have to reach far as the trunks began to extend and reach for their afternoon snack.  They took the bamboo very gently from my hand, tucked it into their mouth and then bellowed out a call asking for more.

As great of an experience as it was, it was also a little sad to see all the animals kept in such small cages.  The lions and tigers were in cages on concrete floors and the monkeys barely had any room to play and swing about.  It was captivating to watch the monkeys take the small cone Jell-O treats, rip off the lid and then push out the tasty treat inside.  Though it’s almost a cruel joke to hop them up on sugar and not give them a lot of space to work it off. 

Overall the issues that I have with the Yangon Zoo are very similar to the issues facing Burma today.  I’d like to see things change but at what cost will those changes affect the identity of a place I have grown to love.  On one hand the proximity to the animals makes it an incredible experience, however the conditions that the animals are forced to live in make it less ideal..  These are the paradoxes an emerging country faces every day.