KoreaToday Seoul Grand Park Brings Back Nature to Animals
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Zoos are one of the places most visited by families and lovers for picnics, and in Seoul and its surrounding areas, more than four million people a year visit the 9.3 square kilometer Seoul Grand Park to enjoy nature.
In the center of the park, there is 2.9 square kilometer zoo where there are 360 species of animals from around the world.
Over the past several decades, the zoo used to be a place for the exhibition and preservation of animal species. They were ``exhibited'' in a concrete floored metal cage. In the wintertime, those from warm lands nearly froze to death, while the opposite situation ― for species from colder climes ― took place in the summer time.
However, these days the zoo is moving toward guaranteeing the ``rights'' of animals and instead of cold concrete floors, the lions are provided with heated cushions to rest on. The zoo has also built a special structure for Barbary sheep, which love to climb to higher places according to the animal's hierarchy. Now they can climb it daily and enjoy their lives in a ``pseudo-homeland.''
``It is a win-win situation. The visitors can see the animals in their different aspects during the four seasons, and the animals can enjoy comfortable,'' Kang Hyung-uk, the parks's spokesman said.
Also, bringing back the wilderness of nature has become a key issue. Using food, the trainers try to stimulate them and bring back their natural behavior once more.
``We know some other parks create safaris where people can really look at animals from a close distance. But the visitors' excitement is actually an exchange for the animals' wilderness. These parks de-claw and remove the horns of their animals that could possibly hurt humans. But what about the life of the animals?'' Kang said.
