Taipei Zoo has established a “zookeeper band,” consisting entirely of staff, who put on impromptu performances throughout the day, substituting broadcasted announcements with music to tell visitors not to throw objects into animal exhibits.
According to the zoo, the band, one of a growing number of measures by the zoo to stop visitors from throwing items into animal exhibits, was formed after an incident in which a Formosan rock macaque one morning gave an NT$50 coin to a zookeeper who was feeding the primates.
The zookeeper jokingly said it was the first time that animals had paid him in his 30 years of service.
Photo: courtesy of Taipei Zoo
Many visitors to the zoo are fond of throwing snacks to the monkeys, the zookeeper said, adding that he has cleaned up hamburgers, fries, apples, parts of lunchboxes sold at the zoo and even chewed betel nut from exhibition areas.
On holidays, visitors sometimes toss peanuts, cookies or sweets to the monkeys, the zookeeper said, adding that some visitors have even inadvertently thrown their cell phones, umbrellas or plastic bottles into exhibition areas.
Formosan rock macaques, also known as Taiwanese macaques, have specialized pouches in their cheeks to temporarily store food.
In one incident, a macaque mistook a plastic bottle cap for food and stuck it in the cheek pouch, the zookeeper said, adding that if staff had not noticed it in time, the cap could have caused the monkey to develop cellulitis in its cheek, which could have been fatal.
The macaques are not alone in receiving the “attention” of visitors, as an assortment of rocks, coins and plastic and glass bottles are often tossed into the crocodile exhibit, ostensibly to see if the crocodiles are real, the zoo said.
“We hope our novel method of reminding visitors will work, as these extra ‘treats’ can cause animals to become sick if ingested,” the zoo said.
Too much food given to the animals could also cause them to put on weight and further affect their health, it added.
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