Hey everyone! About two years ago I posted here asking if anyone would use a website to track the zoos and aquariums they've visited and find new places to visit.

I got a ton of great feedback, started building it, put it on the back burner for a while, and eventually came back to it. I finally have it ready enough to let people use it.

It's called ZooHopper. You can discover zoos, aquariums and other wildlife destinations, keep a Passport of everywhere you've visited, save places you want to go, browse by animals, and add photos from your visits.

The beta is launching with 400+ U.S. wildlife destinations, around 5,500 animals in the database, and more than 40,000 animal records matched to individual destinations.

I'm still treating this as a passion project. It's completely free, there are no ads, and I'm sure you guys will find things I've missed.

I just opened up a small beta and wanted to come back here first since this community helped shape some of the ideas in the first place.

https://zoohopper.com/

I'd love to hear what you think, especially what's missing or what would make it more useful for the way you actually visit zoos.

Idk if I’m over reacting - here’s the situation:

Fife Zoo in Scotland has been up to some deeply weird things. They’ve been posting very clearly AI generated images to their social media for promotion and they’re a super small place so I get not having the budget for an artist etc. HOWEVER upon getting called out for it by dozens of people instead of admitting their AI usage (and preferably never using it again) they’ve been blocking people, deleting comments and they’ve made a really passive aggressive reel on insta of them “making” marketing materials (putting ai generated images on canva and adding text)

It just feels so weird to me that this is the route they’ve taken. Being criticised for AI usage (rightfully, they’re meant to be pro conservation which ai is definitely not) is not hate, no one was being mean, and their “marketing” video was just plain rude. The entire thing is completely unprofessional. The way to respond to criticism is not deleting comments, blocking people and making passive aggressive reels. I’m really disappointed in a place I used to love :(

I feel like, considering the damage AI does to the environment, Zoos and conservation charities really shouldn’t be using it for their marketing bc it sends the wrong message but I’m seeing situations like this more and more.

Hi everyone!

About seven months ago we introduced ZooTrack here: a free community-driven app for keeping track of your zoo visits and the animals you've seen.

A lot has happened since then, so we thought it was time for an update!

ZooTrack now includes thousands of zoos around the world and a growing community has added hundreds of thousands of real animal sightings. On June 18th, just over two months ago, we passed the milestone of 500,000 real sightings!

What makes ZooTrack a little different is that you don't just mark a zoo or species as visited. Animals can be linked to their actual enclosures within the zoo, so while walking around you can build a detailed history of what you saw, where you saw it and when.

Since launch we've also added things like:

• Sub-enclosures
• ZooRecap and TripRecap
• Community photo contributions
• Community review and moderation
• ZooTrack Rangers for experienced contributors
• Personal statistics, life lists and leaderboards
• Maps showing where species can currently be found

Everything is still completely free and ZooTrack remains a hobby project built together with the zoo community.

There is still a LOT we want to improve, so we'd love to hear from you:

What feature would make ZooTrack more useful during or after a zoo visit?

🌍 Web: zootrack.me
📱 Available on Android and iOS

Hi! I'm writing about a (fictional) pest control guy who has unfortunately (for him) become the guy who captures Jersey Devils (no not the hockey team) that are becoming a nuisance to humans.

I've put him in a situation where he's got two adults trapped in a hole and three babies in a crate. (Think large screaming goats, but at sonic levels, and oh yeah they have wings.) He's figured out a way to free them, but once they're out he's going to be stuck with two angry adult Jersey Devils and four angry babies.

So here's my question: if someone was supposed to be capturing squirrels and called in with the accidental capture of a very rare animal that was injured, would they call Animal Control who would call the Zoo, or would they call the Zoo and the Zoo would send out Animal Control and some experts?

It's safe to say that the main character has a good working relationship with both groups.

thanks!

ps as per usual with Reddit if there's a better place for me to post please let me know! Not breaking any rules intentionally.

Turn sound on for this clip.

This is how you can tell the key behavioral cues in this footage between these two separated males:

Capybara aggression and conflict signals are sharp and immediate. The clicking sound at 0:01 is teeth chattering. In capybaras, this is a direct, warning signal used to assert dominance, display agitation, or signal an intent to attack.

Look at the raised snout, stiffened neck, body movement and language, and the intense focus on the gap in the gate. Unlike a relaxed animal exploring their environment, every muscle here is tense and primed for confrontation. They can still smell, hear, and see each other constantly. This can create an additional layer of chronic stress. Standing at a boundary line while chattering teeth is the exact opposite of a relaxed state.

At 0:08, you can see something leaking from the back of one of the capybaras and patches of it on the ground. That is a substance which is produced by their anal-scent glands. Marking their territory is another way to assert dominance.

In captive herd settings, mature males frequently establish strict territorial hierarchies. Without sufficient space to disperse, dominance disputes can quickly escalate into severe physical conflicts.

Physical separation prevents active fighting, but the lack of visual barriers means scent and other cues continue to trigger stress responses. Effective management requires complete visual and olfactory isolation, or adequate space for flight to allow an animal's stress hormones to return to a safe state.

Capybaras are specialized grass-eating herbivores and they require a high-fiber, low-nutrition, near zero-sugar diet. Natural diets consist of roughly 75% fresh grasses, greenery and hard vegetation to wear down their ever-growing teeth.

The enclosure lacked visible fresh green browse, relying primarily on dry hay. Additionally, processed high-sugar treats like household biscuits intended for human consumption were being offered as reward from the keepers. Introducing human foods with artificial ingredients into a capybara's sensitive digestive system poses risks of digestive problems, diarrhoea, and severe discomfort in small quantities and can be life threatening in worse cases.

Direct, uncontrolled visitor access where guests can approach, touch, or corner animals creates environmental stress. Unsupervised petting interactions like at 0:24 in the video elevate vigilance in animals that are already displaying chronic stress cues. Safe interaction requires opportunities to retreat, and active monitoring to ensure both human safety and animal comfort.

Location: Bella Animal Park Hungary. I was looking into if this zoo may be a part of EAZA (Europian Associations of Zoos and Aquaria) but I discovered that it is not.

This is how you can help: The next time you visit an animal park or zoo, look past the "cuteness" and pay attention to forage availability, enclosure design, retreat zones opportunities, how the animals communicate through body language and the intensity of their movement.

The most effective way to drive change is by voting with your support: choose to revisit and support facilities that prioritize animal welfare over visitor entertainment. You can read about this in our related post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/capybaralife/comments/1vuj4c8/this_is_what_capybaras_need_to_thrive_in_captivity/

Spotting the difference between a genuinely relaxed animal and a chronically stressed one allows us to ask better questions and support better institutions.

We need to spend some time on public advocacy toward accredited sanctuaries and high-welfare facilities that put species-appropriate care before human entertainment to help raise the baseline for animal welfare standards!

Check out our related posts and sources here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/capybaralife/comments/1vuj4c8/this_is_what_capybaras_need_to_thrive_in_captivity/

https://www.reddit.com/r/capybaralife/comments/1vyzi0j/capybara_stress_can_look_different_from_what_we/

https://www.reddit.com/r/capybaralife/comments/1uvilrd/why_sugar_sugary_foods_are_harmful_for_capybaras/

Check out our community wiki for more information regarding animal welfare claims:

https://www.reddit.com/r/capybaralife/wiki/index/primary-information-sources/?screen_view_count=1

Other related resources

https://capybaraworld.wordpress.com/2026/04/18/capybara-stress-welfare-checklist-use-it-when-you-visit-a-zoo/