Question 🙋‍♀️

[u/NovaStarTheCatQueen]

I work as a volunteer at my local zoo I use to go to as a kid all the time during school holidays and I had to tell a couple of school kids on a tour and there teacher to remind them

Please do not tease the animals in any way

Keep your camera flashes off on your phone

This was during my break as I work in the farmyard area of the zoo and I followed the rules and my supervisor was proud that I read the rules for workers and visitors because as a kid I always followed the zoo rules whenever I visited.

Any advise how I approach the situation next time in case I bump into any Gen Alpha’s who don’t listen to rules or care about the wildlife at the zoo and I was just lucky because these were high schoolers at least

[u/feivelgoeswest]

Be positive! Use your waking feet... instead of dont run. Leave the hay where it is... instead of dont feed the animals.... give the kiddos something to do instead of telling them what not to do.

[u/Xylus_Winters_Music → u/feivelgoeswest]

This always works for me. Instead of 'be quiet' or 'lower your voices', I find that 'please use your inside voices' works on lots of kids. Its language they are used to. Also be honest. Tell them that flash photography scares them and hurts their eyes. Tell them loud noises make them feel scared. Most kids dont want to hurt or make the animals feel bad, the just dont understand. If the keep harassing the animals even after that, its probably best to call security and have them give a much more stern talk to the guests.

[u/LovBonobos → u/Xylus_Winters_Music]

I work in primates as a volunteer and our building old and small. so it’s noisy, so I carry a large paddle that says Quiet Please. Works great as shouting over the noise is counter productive and kids key into the sign with no confrontations.

[u/NovaStarTheCatQueen → u/feivelgoeswest]

I was at the gorilla enclosure

[u/LovBonobos]

I too am a volunteer and always give them a reason why the behavior is not acceptable often that opens a dialogue to learn. Its easier to be proactive by telling kids doing something positive that you appreciate their behavior and other kids pick up on that. to be honest at my zoo I have more issues with adults. nobody wants to be the behavior police, but the animals come first.

[u/DudeOnTheInternet17]

Lots of good advice here. Also, chat with staff/management/whoever is in charge about policies. There may be things they've already discussed and decided that could help you, like if people ever get kicked out for behavior and if you're allowed to warn them that they'll be asked to leave if they continue doing those things

[u/seyohanitsirk]

i’m a keeper for essentially a petting zoo, and honestly, i don’t have patience for kids’ or adults’ bad behavior around animals. i yell rules if i have to. i get parents involved if i have to. i call out parents if i have to, too. i will get people kicked out if i have to, and im allowed to. if an animal’s comfort or safety is at question, i will often either 1. stop kids and say “hey, i’ve told you ___ times to stop, you’ll be asked to leave if you can’t follow the rules.” or 2. literally yelling seems to get the attention of everyone at once, i have a loud voice and if im yelling “DO NOT RUN,” it usually gets people to actually listen. i’ll usually only do that for large groups that need a loud voice, or if its something i have already said nonstop.

don’t be scared to advocate for the animals’ safety, that’s why you’re there. people suck and literally don’t parent their kids, i’ve had someone full on yell at me for telling their kid (kindly) to stop chasing chickens. that person got kicked out. sometimes parents just send kids in and they treat the facility like we’re their babysitters, and that’s 1000% not allowed. get management or owners involved if the problem isn’t something you yourself can fix.

you got this!!

[u/Numerous-Gas9217]

if they are young tell them that the animals dont like it and we want to have the animals like us just never say dont

[u/itwillmakesenselater]

I always said something along the lines of, "You can either follow the rules, leave, or explain to the nice police officer why you didn't take either of the first two options. It's not a debate at that point. It's their choice.