| Interesting tone to this one. Lots of "just walkin' 'round the zoo"
footage (of the resident critters as well as the visiting ones), at
times to the point of - well, of boredom; if I were actually at the
zoo, I wouldn't have spent as much time in some areas as Wiseman did.
But just when I began to wonder if it was all going to be sleepy
ostriches and T-shirted guys mimicking the gorilla, some of the behind-
the-scenes zoo business began to creep in. Feeding the komodo dragon
("fish and chicks"), feeding the python (this got a little grim, as I'm
fond of snakes and also of furry little bunny rabbits, and in this case
they couldn't both have a good day), stealing crocodile eggs from their
mother's nest to be incubated in a safer environment (note the use of
the handy-dandy Rubbermaid box, clearly designed especially for
incubating reptile eggs - also useful for taking deviled eggs to
picnics, one assumes), autopsying the poor little baby rhino
(rhinoceroses are among the most archaic-looking critters I can think
of; they might have just strolled out of the tar pits), neutering a
wolf (heck, _I_ winced at this one), and - the nastiest part -
investigating the feral-dog attacks on some of the herd animals,
wherein several deer-type critters were savagely mauled to death. (The
main culprit, a huge bull terrier by the look of him, was found and
shot, but the damage it and a couple of other dogs inflicted in just a
few hours was horrifying.)
In between these episodes, there were shots of pretty scenery,
interesting animals (the tigers, some white, others the traditional
orange, had a really lovely compound, with a mock temple and lots of
space and even a moat to swim in), fussy kids (one of whom got knocked
over by a goat as she was saying, "Dad, don't take a picture of
<oof!>"), and LOTS of people-with-cameras. Very benign and relaxed,
just like most strolls through a zoo; made the life-and-death stuff
more shocking by contrast. (Interestingly enough, the zoo had no
problem with letting the public watch as live crayfish were thrown to
the otters (who played with them like cats play with mice), but did not
want the public to watch the python swallow the rabbit. Funny things,
humans.)
The film ended with a fund-raising banquet on the zoo grounds, wherein
people in glittery evening gowns or tuxes became the star attractions.
(I _think_ the guy who was whipping together the gourmet salad was the
same one who'd been mushing the eggs, bananas, and fruit together for
the chimps a few hours earlier, but that was pretty much the high point
of the feeding-the-humans segment.)
As a "day in the life of a zoo," I'd say it pretty thoroughly covered
the highs, lows, and mundanities, though I was disappointed that more
of the "human zoo" element didn't creep in; seems to me I see plenty of
unintentional irony when I go to the zoo, but for some reason it didn't
show up as much in this film. Maybe Wiseman wasn't feeling ironic that
week...
-b
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I agree, Beth -- there were a few slow spots where we got to
watch something graze. That I can get on any number of PBS
nature shows, which I watch whenever I get a chance. Watching
people work with the animals behind the scenes (doing all those
herd management things) was the fascinating part. I just kept
thinking of the mixture of compassion and mental toughness
that it must take to do those jobs. The stillborn rhino was
sad, but was tempered by the gallows humor of trying to get
the ears to stand up when they were photographing the autopsy.
There was no tempering when it came to the animals mauled by
the dogs.
There was nothing in the film that sounded a false note when
I compare it against the volunteer work we did with the Friends
of the National Zoo. Wiseman captured the zoo routine -- lots
of hard, repetitious work punctuated by moments of accomplishment
and of crisis. The one area I wished he'd done a little more
with was the boardroom side, where all the bartering for animals
and services goes on, and where they attempt to balance (but
usually juggle) fiscal and environmental realities.
I disagreed with the critic who panned Wiseman for not using
dialog. Nobody could write dialog that got to the point
faster than what the vet had to say. I can take a zoo
management course for the hard facts, but I'll watch Wiseman's
work a look behind closed doors.
Ron
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