One of the most popular social media forums these days is Reddit's beloved "Am I the A--hole?," which describes itself as "A catharsis for the frustrated moral philosopher in all of us." It's a guilty pleasure of mine at all times, but I especially got a kick out of this one because it was zoo-related. Public sentiment seems to be firmly in the support of the original poster. What do you think?
For myself, I like the fact that folks seem to be al about showing empathy to the animals, though I do have to admit, some of this seems a little odd to me. I like to be quiet and respectful around animals, but this does seem a little of an exaggeration. Koalas do sleep - a lot - but from my experience (as a zoo visitor for this species, never as a keeper), they aren't easily disturbed, and I'm having a hard time imagining a crying baby getting them too wound up, let alone "scurrying" away en masse. (You know what also lives in trees in Australia? Cockatoos. And those jerks are a lot louder than an army of screaming babies).
Nor do koalas go into cubby holes - they live on trees, not in cavities, and in the dozen or so zoos I've seen them in, I've never seen one dive into a tree cavity, let alone several at once.
So, as is often the case with these Reddit stories, I'm wondering if this ever happened, or at the very least if maybe OP isn't exaggerating just a smidge.
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