"Tiger View Room" should most ask how big the psychological shadow area of the tiger is| the Beijing News Quick Review

The safety of guests needs attention, but what needs to be paid attention to in this news is the "physical and mental health" of the tiger.

▲ On January 20, a "tiger view room" appeared in a zoo in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Video/Beijing News comment video number

| Song Jinbo

Recently, a video exposed the "Tiger View Room" of a hotel in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. In the video, the hotel room is separated from the tiger's activity area by only one side of the glass. People in the room can clearly see the tiger walking back and forth. The design of the room has sparked a lot of discussion. The information from the Nantong Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism is that the publicity and business of the project have been suspended.

Netizens are first concerned about the safety of guests on this matter. Considering that in recent years, there have been many incidents of tourists and tigers "face to face" due to zoo and wildlife park management problems, resulting in tourist casualties, and even the news that wild tigers have entered the human activity area to hurt people, this concern is naturally reasonable.

The hotel staff told the media that the "Tiger View Room" in the video is the so-called "Beast Room" that has just been renovated and has not yet been put into use. There are corresponding protective measures in the room, and the glass is made of explosion-proof glass, and safety can be guaranteed.

▲ According to the "Tiger View Room" preset, from the glass of the hotel room, visitors can see the tiger walking around. Photo/ Screenshot of the Nine Pie News video

Strictly speaking, judging from the relevant videos, the "Tiger View Room" of the hotel in this news is not a hotel in the general sense, but a special viewing tour of a safari park. If nothing else, the difference from other safari tours is that the location of the visitor has been changed from a tour bus or tour access to a safe glass-protected room, and the viewing time is likely to increase from the previous normal working hours to a full-day visit. It is close to this situation to imagine that an overnight room is also reserved in the Marine Aquarium.

That is to say, the requirements for this project, in addition to measuring the hotel as the main body of human life, must also meet the construction standards of the wildlife park with wild animals as the main body of habitat.

The construction of modern zoos and safari parks has paid more and more attention to the health of wild animals. In general, there is greater emphasis on the animals in the zoo should not be abused, should not be excessively disturbed by tourists or managers, and minimize unnecessary stimulation when possible.

In the national "Wildlife Park Design Code" promulgated in 1994, there are many places that emphasize that the design of wild animal parks should be "suitable for animal habitat growth and exhibition, to ensure safety", "to meet the requirements of animal living habits", "the design plan should widely solicit opinions from all walks of life", "after the closure of the park is prohibited to interfere with various activities of animals in the animal exhibition area".

▲ On April 8, 2020, the "tiger fishing" play project appeared in Yunnan Wildlife Park, which attracted attention and the zoo carried out rectification in time. Video/Beijing News our video

If the animal's living environment is not well designed, too boring and monolithic, the animal may have some negative behavior. Stereotypical behaviors are most common, such as tigers pacing repeatedly in cages and elephants repeatedly shaking their bodies and long noses. More seriously, there will also be self-harm and attacks, such as birds pecking off their feathers, and some animals will attack tourists and keepers, indicating that the psychological endurance of animals is close to the brink of collapse. This is caused by the inability of animals to avoid environmental stress, and also reflects the damage caused to their physical and mental health by improper living environment settings.

Judging from the "tiger view room" design of nantong's wildlife park, the safety of tourists (tenants) may be guaranteed, but tourists are at close proximity to tigers and other beasts of prey, as well as herbivores that are more likely to be disturbed, and the physical and mental health of animals may not be enough to consider. For example, whether the sound insulation is good, and whether the disturbance of animals by human activities can be reduced by specific one-way glass, should be further evaluated.

Life loves freedom and doesn't like to be forced. The existence of the zoo itself is controversial and can be said to be a last resort. At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has caused human beings to suffer from isolation and confinement, in addition to paying attention to the fate of the same kind, we may as well have a little more empathy for the lives of zoos.

Special Commentator | Song Jinbo (Columnist)

Edit | Li Xiaoxiao Ma Xiaolong

Intern | Wei Yingzi

Proofreading | Wang Xin

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