By Abraham Freeman
September 1, 2024
It was the first full day of our honeymoon trip. The entire two-week vacation had only one scheduled activity that was to take place in three days. Walking down the plush carpeted hallway of our hotel my wife and I caught one of the four elevators down to the lobby. The elevator descended quickly from the twenty-second floor stopping briefly at the tenth and third floors. As we stepped out from the lobby into the sun-covered sidewalk I was thankful that we had lathered ourselves up in our mineral sunscreen. We weren’t planning on going in the water, but we used mineral sunscreen to be prepared. Hawaii banned sunscreens with the ingredients octinoxate and oxybenzone in early 2021 (State). The purpose is to protect the reefs and sea life. One anecdote is with the thousands of people visiting Hanauma Bay every day, it took “up to 50 hours” for these chemicals to dissipate from the water. Hanauma Bay is the most popular spot in the state to visit (Oxybenzone).
The coffee shop, Kona Coffee Purveyors had caught my wife's eye while she was pursuing Google for cafes in the area. Not having a vehicle, we began the walk to obtain our morning brew. Upon arriving I opted for a cup of English Breakfast tea. In hindsight, it probably was odd to be going to a high-end coffee shop to order tea. The cashier didn’t seem to mind though, and they had a decent selection of teas. Grabbing a table outside we enjoyed our pastries and warm drinks. We debated what we should do next.
“Let’s go to the zoo,” my wife said.
“I don’t know,” I said.
I had been to the Honolulu Zoo probably three or so times as a child. The memories of visiting the zoo with my family were fond, but I wasn’t sold on seeing it on my honeymoon.
We discussed what to do for a bit. Ultimately I couldn’t come up with another idea and my wife really wanted to go.
There are arguments that zoos are cruel to animals on one of the basis that the animals are not out roaming the wild. The animals are captured, to put it bluntly. I personally know individuals who flat-out refuse to go to a zoos for this reason. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. In my case understanding where zoos historically came from and where they are today is how I make the decision to go to a zoo.
Zoos historically began thousands of years ago, like during the time of Egyptian Pharaohs. These early zoos were called menageries. They were collections of animals for the wealthy. Fast forwarding to the recent past, the first zoo that we would consider a resemblance to the zoos of today was created in 1793 in Paris (Zoo). Zoos offered “animal rides” along with other non-zoo-like activities up into the 1960s (Hutchinson).
Currently, a zoo can be accredited every five years by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums also known as the AZA. Less than 10% of the “licensed animal exhibitors” in the United States of America have this accreditation. The Honolulu Zoo is accredited by the AZA (About). One counter against the argument that animals are prisoners is that the money from zoogoers provides funds for conservation (Patrick). If a person chooses not to go to a zoo, I wonder if they then provide the funds they could have spent at the zoo instead to a conservation effort.
We began the walk over to the zoo. We knew we would arrive ten minutes before opening thanks to Apple Maps. As we waited at the entrance I wondered if the hippopotamus statue was still around. My siblings and I had taken photos while on the pair of hippopotamus each time we visited.
A woman on the other side of the gates swung them open and people began filling in. We purchased our tickets and walked over to a board with the map of the zoo. I had planned to take a photo of it though a child was up close pointing to all the places they wanted to go. We waited a minute or so and eventually were able to take a photo.
Our first stop was the bird exhibits. Honestly, these are my least favorite animals in the zoo. I am not sure why, I think probably because there are so many of them and most of them look the same to me. I started off strong by thoroughly reading each information plaque, but eventually, I was only reading the names.
As we walked between exhibits I used an app on my phone to identify the plethora of plants. Let me tell you, there were so many different types of plants that I wasn’t able to scan all of them. My wife joked that we should have gone to an arboretum due to all the enjoyment that I was getting out of identifying plants.
We visited the elephants, giraffes, and warthogs. It was getting hot and we thought we had seen everything, but I hadn't found my hippopotamus sculptures yet. I feared that they had been removed. It had been about ten years since I had last visited. Before going to the exit I convinced my wife to go through the farm section of the zoo that was meant for younger children. Finding a zoo employee I inquired about the hippo sculpture. To my surprise and ultimate enjoyment, she knew the sculpture I was referencing.
Walking now with a newfound purpose following the path around to the left. As we rounded the turn the hippopotamus statues came into view. I was elated to know that my visit to the zoo would be completed with a photo of them. I posed with the hippos. I felt a bit childish for some odd reason. It probably was because this was the first time I was posing with the statues as an adult.
As we were looking for the exit, I discovered an entire other section of the zoo. We hadn’t referenced the map at all. Now referencing it I realized we had only walked through the African savannah section. We had missed the monkeys and reptiles.
The monkeys were out on their jungle gym when we arrived. Two different species of monkeys in different enclosures were vocalizing back and forth with each other. As we went to see the reptiles, I looked back at the monkeys on the jungle gym. I observed the juxtaposition that the monkeys were being held captive in the zoo against the Waikiki skyline. I snapped a quick photo.
This made me reflect on how humans have destroyed the habitat and homes of other organisms. What gives us the right to do this?
There isn’t one.
The idea to visit the Honolulu Zoo was a great idea on my wife's part. The ability to learn about other organisms, contribute to conservation, and build happy memories with my wife is something that added great value to our honeymoon.
References
“About Aza Accreditation.” About AZA Accreditation , Association of Zoos & Aquariums,
www.aza.org/what-is-accreditation. Accessed 29 Aug. 2024.
Hutchinson, Alvin. “Zoos: A Historical Perspective: Introduction.” Zoos: A Historical
Perspective | Introduction, Smithsonian Libraries, www.sil.si.edu/ondisplay/zoos/intro.htm. Accessed 29 Aug. 2024.
“Oxybenzone Sunscreen Threatens Hanauma Bay’s Coral Reef.” NCCOS Coastal Science Website, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 26 Nov. 2021, coastalscience.noaa.gov/news/oxybenzone-sunscreen-threatens-hanauma-bays-coral-reefs/.
Patrick, Patricia G., and Sue Dale Tunnicliffe. “Rationale for the Existence of Zoos.” Zoo Talk 19–35. 23 Jul. 2012, doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4863-7_3
“State of Hawaiʻi to Implement Legislative Ban on Sunscreen Chemicals in 2021.” Edited by Rosannah Gosser, The Scoop on Sunscreen, University of Hawaii Hilo, hilo.hawaii.edu/news/kekalahea/the-scoop-on-sunscreen. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.
“Zoo.” Encyclopedic Entry, National Geographic , education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/zoo/. Accessed 29 Aug. 2024.
Σχόλια