Lions, Tigers, Bears.... OH MY!

I’m not a reporter, but I decided to play one last weekend by going to a controversial petting zoo. Zoo Lujan is a typical zoo outside of Buenos Aires in that it houses lions, tigers, bears—also zebras, camels, elephants, monkeys, gorillas, deer, seals, and a multitude of other animals. Except that it’s anything but typical, because instead of viewing the animals from behind bars, you’re behind the bars yourself.



That’s right! You can go into the cages to pet the wild animals!

The thing is, they’re not wild and they’re barely animals anymore.

Things look different when you’re inside the cage yourself. The majestic lose their magic. Or rather, you can sense that the spark’s been stolen. I’ve felt more afraid to touch a dead, stuffed lion than I did to pet this living, breathing (albeit sleeping) one. When you’re up close to these animals, you feel how harmless they are, and you realize how unnatural that is.

Maybe you’re already against all zoos and circuses and maybe you’re even vegan too. I applaud you if you are. Here’s where I stand: Like most people, I love animals. They’re one of my major sources of joy and I love learning about them. As such, I advocate keeping injured or non-adaptable animals in a well-kept, natural habitat type zoo that equally entertains and educates visitors about each species.

To put it nicely, Zoo Lujan is not that kind of place.

You pull in to the dirt parking lot scattered with free-roaming llamas, alpacas, sheep, ducks, geese, and peacocks all searching for food—and that’s all the environment or “natural habitat” you’ll see all day.

I knew that before we got there. So why did I go? I’d heard the terrors: things like “The animals are drugged” and “It’s not safe. They’ll attack you!” But I’d also heard plenty of people vouch for it, saying “It’s not that bad. I liked it!” “It’s better than the one downtown,” “The animals are just used to humans,” and the most convincing, “When will you get another chance to snuggle a lion?”  

So I went to see for myself, to give the place a chance, and to be honest, because I’ll never get to do it again.

First thing that caught my attention was the drastic price difference. Many events or activities here have a discounted price for locals, but the price for foreigners at Lujan is almost triple. So it’s a tourist trap. Secondly, it’s privately funded, which in Argentina often means not approved by the country. (Even museums dedicated to the government’s historical crimes are funded in part by the government.)

For the rest, I want the photos do most of the talking. So you can hopefully see for yourself without feeling like you need to go.  In them you’ll see the poor conditions of the place, as well as our honest excitement of seeing these incredible animals up close. It’s an awesome thing! My ethical stance on the place can’t change that fact.

The good:

+ You can’t pet all of the animals. They take turns and there’s only certain spots you’re allowed to touch.

+ There supposedly is danger, though I couldn't sense it. There were multiple trainers in the petting cages and dogs to help calm the environment.

+ The trainers answered all our questions with ease. They explained why some were asleep (naturally nocturnal) and others were awake (caffeinated by milk and food). They knew the animals’ names, ages, family members, habits, personalities, and seemed to genuinely care for them. They warned us that the elephants were tired, and they had interesting information on the bears and the monkeys.

+ The bears seemed content. The brother and sister grizzlies had a play area, complete with a slide, a pool, trees to climb, and space to run.

+ The toucans and parrots had native trees and plenty of sweets to keep them happy.

+ A tiger, tickled by my hair, woke and sat up abruptly. He complained with a loud groan and an open mouth. Though startling, his responsiveness reassured me.

The Bad:

- As I said before, there’s no atmosphere whatsoever. The zoo doesn’t even try to fake that.

- The animals were dirty and deeply depressed. Disturbingly so… A crazed hopelessness just engulfs the place. Even a young girl noticed it. When her parents took her past the gorillas, she hid her face in her dad’s arm and asked “Why is that monkey so sad?”


Because of us, I wanted to say.

- When we wanted a photo of the three of us girls behind the lion, a trainer forced the lion awake by spraying it in the face with water. It was really rude and the lion clearly didn't like it, but he picked up his head obediently.

After that grimace, we still smiled for the photo, but it was ugly. We checked in with each other, after the main attraction of seeing the Majestic Mufasa... and our conversation went a bit like this: 

"How'd you feel touching the lion?"  

--"What lion? There's no more lion in there." 

- A deer was injured in the natural process of shedding its antlers. He had a wire wrapped around his bloody antlers, but when we told the trainers, they didn't seem concerned. The deer was panting, pacing with crazed eyes and a lolling tongue. He looked past pained, desperate for relief as he splashed around in the nearby creek. * I have a video clip of this but won't share it publicly*

The Ugly Truth: The zoo was better than I’d imagined. That’s because I pictured it horrendous, when in fact, it’s just horrible. At the same time, it was fun to be so close. I’m glad I went to see for myself, but I regret the monetary support. Overall, the experience was more conflicting than it was cool.  It didn’t seem like they’re necessarily drugging or mistreating the animals. But even if what they're doing at the zoo isn't wrong, it’s still not right.