Do You Go to the Zoo

Interviewing Hua Shi,the writer of A Trip to the Zoo Is Serious Business

With tickets at a mere 40 yuan,a price that hasn’t gone up in 11 years,and with no animal shows and an emphasis on animal welfare,Nanjing’s Hongshan Forest Zoo is China’s one and only completely self-sufficient public zoo—which just so happens to be one of the top animal parks in the country.But its managerial and administrative success story notwithstanding,the COVID-19 crisis has left it in tatters,saddled with more than 30 million yuan in debt.The zoo has found itself amidst something of an existential crisis.Hence,the topic of how a modern zoo makes a living caused a big stir in the country.

Pop-science author Hua Shi toured 41 cities visiting 56 zoos over the space of four months,live broadcasting and putting together ideas for a book published under the name,A Trip to the Zoo Is Serious Business,which was selected for the Capital Library of China’s recommended reads list for the year 2020,as well as China’s top books of the month list.

Wuhan native Hua Shi has a microblog on Sina Weibo with 4.25 million fans and is the netizen director of the Wuhan Zoo.In mid-January,2021,I had an exclusive interview with Hua Shi and gained a lot of insights on his zoo visits.

The zoo appears in many pupils’ school essays and many parents’ “special playtime”activities.Hua Shi himself admitted thatA Trip to the Zoo Is Serious Businesswas written out of a sense of “fun.” Penning the book was the fulfillment of a lifelong wish,but there is also a bit of an ulterior motive that came into play—to attract public attention to the zoos,as well as to help facilitate the future development of the zoo industry.

门票40 元、11年不涨价，拒绝动物表演，重视动物福利，南京红山动物园是国内唯一一家自收自支的公立动物园，也是中国国内最好的动物园之一。然而，这家动物园，去年因疫情影响，亏损3000多万元。红山陷入生存困境，一时间，现代社会的动物园应该是怎样一种存在的话题，引发社会关注。

科普作家花蚀花4 个月时间，跑了41 个城市，逛了56 家动物园，边直播逛动物园边整理写作，出版了《逛动物园是件正经事》这本书，入选首都图书馆2020年最强书单，入选中国好书月榜。

花蚀是武汉人，微博拥有425万粉丝，是武汉动物园的网民园长。2021年1月中旬，记者采访了花蚀，听他讲如何逛动物园。

逛动物园，出现在大多数小朋友的作文里，以及家长的“遛娃”日程表里。花蚀承认，《逛动物园是件正经事》是一本“玩”出来的书。他写这本书，一方面是完成夙愿，另一方面是想引发大家关注动物园，帮助动物园这个行业往前发展。

花蚀说，普通人借助网络或影片可以迅速“浏览”野生动物，但体验不丰富，比如没有气味。很多哺乳动物都会用气味标记领地、传递信息。狗的肛门腺分泌的臭味，让人难以忍受；熊狸散发出的气味，有人形容是奶油爆米花的味道。这一点他在看电视时早知道了，但直到他在云南野生动物园才真的闻到这样的气味，实在是太神奇了，如果不是亲密接触熊狸，是不可能感受到的。

上海动物园的科普小推车里有很多动物的标本，可以看，更可以摸。实物触摸带来的感受，远超观看。猎豹脖颈上的鬃毛有多软？金丝猴、黑白疣猴这两种长毛猴谁的毛更软？摸一下就知道了。

很多人抵制动物园，认为动物园禁锢了动物的自由，非常残忍。但现代动物园承担了三个任务：公众自然教育、珍稀野生动物繁育、科学研究，这三个任务直接关系到人对动物界的了解和人与动物的和谐相处。

花蚀认为，逛动物园，最重要一点，是观察动物的自然行为。

长臂猿是哺乳动物当中，除了人类以外唯一一类会唱和声的动物。长的悠扬的主旋律，是雄性长臂猿的声音；听起来像鸟叫、有一种转动感觉的声音是雌性长臂猿，这是它们给雄性长臂猿配的和声。獐的獠牙会动，吃东西的时候，獠牙会倒下来，“嗖”地立起来，就是要战斗。考拉常见的姿态是找个树杈，一坐一天。考拉臀部的毛比背部要厚得多，摸起来像地毯；背毛的质感更加柔软细密，是用来遮风挡雨的……

The internet and videos may be good ways to quickly “browse”the zoo,but it is imperfect,for example,it lacks the scents of the real zoo experience,remarked Hua Shi.Many mammals use scent to mark their territory and send signals.The smell of the secretions from a dog’s anal glands is nearly unbearable for humans.The scent emitted by the binturong has been described as something akin to buttery popcorn.These are things he had learned about the animals from the television long ago,but it was not until actually smelling these scents at the Yunnan Safari Park for real that he learned how amazing it is.It is something that simply cannot be experienced until coming into contact with an actual binturong.

The trolleys at the Shanghai Zoo contain a multitude of animal specimens that you can see as well as touch.The sensation brought about by physical touch far surpasses that of mere sight.How soft are the bristles on the nape of a cheetah’s neck? And whose fur is softer than that of two longhaired primates,namely,the golden snub-nosed monkey and the black-and-white colobus.You only know when you actually touch them.

Many out there look down on the zoo,thinking that the animals have little freedom in cages,which is downright cruel.But modern zoos now assume three responsibilities:nature education to the public,the breeding of rare animals,and scientific research.These three things directly relate to man’s understanding of the animal kingdom and mankind’s peaceful co-existence with animals.

Hua Shi believes that the most important thing about going to the zoo is observing the natural behavior of animals.

The gibbon is the only mammal in the world that can sing harmony,other than man of course.A sort of larghetto cadenza is the male gibbon’s mellifluous melody.Hearing it would make one mistake it for the warble of birds.A veritable trilled ostinato is the female gibbon’s harmony that forms a symphony when combined with the male’s song.A roebucks’ tusks move when it eats and stand erect with a “swish”when it fights.Sitting perched in the crotch of two tree branches is the oft-seen pose of the koala,where it can stay all day long.The fur on the koala’s loins is thicker than that on its back,almost feeling like carpet to the touch.The texture of the fur on its back is softer and finer,and is used to shield it from wind and rain.

Animals exhibit a wide range of natural behaviors,for example,mating,hunting,and fighting,along with a plethora of fascinating activities.Letting them exhibit their natural behavior and returning them to as close to their natural habitat as possible is what can help the public to visually experience something they cannot without being there on-site.And in the process,they can experience nature itself,with the opportunity to witness and understand the activities of animals first hand.This is something much more than just enjoying animals for their“cuteness,” and the experience is like being treated to pure joy.

Hua Shi cautions everyone not to naively “rescue” an animal’s young that is found in the wild,as they may have just come out to play.The mother will probably come looking to bring them back home soon,and if they are taken away by the hand of man,then the paws of an animal cub and its beloved parents will be forever separated.

The plaques of the snow leopard’s cage in Xining Wildlife Park states the origin,name,age,personality,preferences,and other information of each snow leopard so that the visitors feel they are meeting new friends,rather than “finally seeing live wild animals in the flesh.” Getting to know the animals on a personal level like this makes the trip to the animal park less about just seeing animals up close,and more about spiritually communing with mother nature and all her creations.(Translation:Chase Coulson)

动物会展示许多自然行为，例如求偶、觅食、冲突以及许多有趣的举动。展示动物的自然行为，以及尽可能还原动物原生的自然生态环境，才能让公众直观地感受到影像无法具备的现场感，从而感受大自然。能亲眼看到动物的自然行为并能读懂，就不会只是觉得“萌”，还能享受非常纯粹的快乐。

花蚀提示大家，野外看到落单的动物幼崽，不要贸然“救助”，它们可能只是溜出来玩一玩，一会儿就被妈妈找回家了，人类带走它们，它们可能就永远和家人失散了。

西宁野生动物园的雪豹场馆的科普牌，上面写清了每一只雪豹的来历、名字、年龄、性格、喜好等信息，访客当下的感受就如认识新朋友，而不是“终于看到活的了”。从个体的角度去接触和了解动物，这样一场动物园之旅便不仅仅是一次近距离观察动物的机会，更是一次与大自然母亲及其造物的深入交流。