All About That Bass

The Memphis Zoo is one of a handful of American zoos to maintain a designated aquarium building on grounds, and while it's not one of the bigger ones, I enjoyed it very much anyway.  Ironically, none of the displays in that building were the largest aquariums in the city.  To see some really big fish, you have to cross town to the riverfront along the Mississippi.  There, you can find an unexpected zoological experience amid the rifles and rods of the Bass Pro Pyramid.

In the United States, it's not unusual for large outdoor sports stores, like Bass Pro and Cabela's, to have live fish on display.  The species featured are usually native game species, such as trout, often in waterfall fed pools with rocky backdrops that are themselves covered with taxidermy mounts of deer, bear, bighorn, and other game species.  Even so, the Memphis Bass Pro experience was something.  Besides the main tank, there were also several smaller pools, used to house kayaks and canoes that were for sale.  Strolling up to the very edge of one such pool, I found myself glancing down and looking into the eyes of a massive alligator gar, bobbing just below the surface.  A small number of native waterfowl paddled across another pond, while a separate enclosure held a group of young American alligators.

I'm not really sure what to think of such attractions.  I guess there's nothing wrong with fish on display in and of themselves.  I've never felt morally conflicted about the idea of a fish tank in, say, a dentist's waiting room or a restaurant as long as it was clean and well-cared for, and the level of care and resources available at one of these facilities would be far better in many cases.  I also know that hunting and fishing licenses are a major source of conservation revenue for many state agencies.  Yeah, it was a little harder to enjoy the fish and other animals when all of the visitor commentary revolved around the basic theme of killing and eating and/or mounting those animals, but it's not like the fish could understand that.  Besides, I've heard similar commentary in the halls of many public aquariums in the past.  Or any exhibit of deer or wild turkey, for that matter.

It might be a minor thing, but maybe it's that I am always a little discomfited by live animal attractions in a purely commercial venue.  I don't think it's a distinction that most guests would make.  It's certainly not one that animal rights folks would take seriously.  Besides, some zoos - including some very good ones - are NOT non-profits, and manage to combine quality animal care with financial growth (nor, for that matter, are all non-profit zoos and aquariums automatically good).  And obviously most zoos and aquariums do charge some sort of admission fee to bring in some money, as well as have concessions, gift shops, fundraising appeals, etc.  

I think I just like to try to assure people that bringing in money is something that we do in order to support our animal care programs, not the reason why we have those programs in the first place.  And I do worry a bit that having animal displays in the middle of what is, very obviously, a superstore can lead people to question that - and perhaps extend that suspicion to all zoos and aquariums.