4 ms·

These zoo live cams let you hang out with pandas, giraffes, and other animals

54 points by hhs 7y ago

samizdis 7y ago
Thanks for that. Will be much appreciated by the parents of a two-year-old in locked-down UK. :-)
sixstringtheory 7y ago
It doesn’t help now (at least not live, but you can watch highlights) but there are some webcams at Brooks Falls in Katmai, where bears famously congregate each summer to fish the salmon run. I watched quite a few good shots last June/July. Probably plenty of other webcams on that site I have yet to check out. https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brooks-falls-brown-bears-low https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brooks-falls-brown-...
wyxuan 7y ago
I heard that the zoo animals are super relaxed because they don't have to care about human visitors staring then down
jodje 7y ago
if you are not enjoying your temporary confinement think of these poor animals who have to endure it for the rest of their lives.
- Karuma 7y ago
  Sad to see this comment being downvoted. I can't believe people still do this to animals in most countries...
  - jimmaswell 7y ago
    It's anthropomorphising. Animals in a properly sized and well-made habitat aren't in distress.
    - neonate 7y ago
      How do you know that? Descartes believed that animals couldn't feel pain. We're all shocked by that now, but he could have (in fact probably did) use an argument similar to "that's anthropomorphising". There's a long history of humans making claims about what animals don't experience, in order to justify how we treat them, only to later discover evidence that overturns the claims. It seems to me that this has to be the default explanation for zoos as well.
      - viklove 7y ago
        How do you know plants don't feel pain?
        DoreenMichele 7y ago
        Not sure why you are asking this, but there's evidence that plants do feel pain. At least some can emit chemicals to signal to others of their species that they are infested with harmful insects so other plants can begin producing toxins to protect themselves from infestation. Some also emit a pulse when damaged, which one might think if as kind of like a scream, though it's not anything humans can perceive with our innate senses. (At least, not most of us. There may be exceptions. Some humans are abnormally good at sensing magnetic north, etc.)
        jimmaswell 7y ago
        A stimulus reaction isn't the same thing as "feeling pain", which requires a certain level of consciousness. It's debatable if even lobsters for example have the necessary development.
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
        pacamara619 7y ago
        Haha serotonin printer go brrr
- clairity 7y ago
  that's valid, but it's a tradeoff too. living in the wild can be brutal. zoos bring empathy for animals to people who are otherwise shielded from the wild. with that said, i'd be happy if zoos (and the pens within) were 10x-100x bigger.
- taborj 7y ago
  ... And what if we are enjoying it? Could that mean there are animals that do, in fact, enjoy living in a zoo? Many animals at my local zoo are rescues, so perhaps living in confinement beats dying to those animals?
dylan604 7y ago
Yup, just like going to the zoo in person. The first link I tried was the San Diego Zoo's Panda Cam, and all I saw was an image empty any pandas.
op03 7y ago
That Georgia Aquarium cam is awesome. I now need an AR layer that identifies whatever is swimming past.
anotherevan 7y ago
There's also some live cameras from the Melbourne Zoo in Australia. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS9UBqaUtoIXUhX0J1BnxwQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS9UBqaUtoIXUhX0J1BnxwQ

54 points by hhs 7y ago

Thanks for that. Will be much appreciated by the parents of a two-year-old in locked-down UK. :-)

It doesn’t help now (at least not live, but you can watch highlights) but there are some webcams at Brooks Falls in Katmai, where bears famously congregate each summer to fish the salmon run. I watched quite a few good shots last June/July. Probably plenty of other webcams on that site I have yet to check out. https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brooks-falls-brown-bears-low https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brooks-falls-brown-...

wyxuan 7y ago

I heard that the zoo animals are super relaxed because they don't have to care about human visitors staring then down

jodje 7y ago

if you are not enjoying your temporary confinement think of these poor animals who have to endure it for the rest of their lives.

Karuma 7y ago
Sad to see this comment being downvoted. I can't believe people still do this to animals in most countries...
- jimmaswell 7y ago
  It's anthropomorphising. Animals in a properly sized and well-made habitat aren't in distress.
  - neonate 7y ago
    How do you know that? Descartes believed that animals couldn't feel pain. We're all shocked by that now, but he could have (in fact probably did) use an argument similar to "that's anthropomorphising". There's a long history of humans making claims about what animals don't experience, in order to justify how we treat them, only to later discover evidence that overturns the claims. It seems to me that this has to be the default explanation for zoos as well.
    - viklove 7y ago
      How do you know plants don't feel pain?
      - DoreenMichele 7y ago
        Not sure why you are asking this, but there's evidence that plants do feel pain. At least some can emit chemicals to signal to others of their species that they are infested with harmful insects so other plants can begin producing toxins to protect themselves from infestation. Some also emit a pulse when damaged, which one might think if as kind of like a scream, though it's not anything humans can perceive with our innate senses. (At least, not most of us. There may be exceptions. Some humans are abnormally good at sensing magnetic north, etc.)
        jimmaswell 7y ago
        A stimulus reaction isn't the same thing as "feeling pain", which requires a certain level of consciousness. It's debatable if even lobsters for example have the necessary development.
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
        pacamara619 7y ago
        Haha serotonin printer go brrr
clairity 7y ago
that's valid, but it's a tradeoff too. living in the wild can be brutal. zoos bring empathy for animals to people who are otherwise shielded from the wild. with that said, i'd be happy if zoos (and the pens within) were 10x-100x bigger.
taborj 7y ago
... And what if we are enjoying it? Could that mean there are animals that do, in fact, enjoy living in a zoo? Many animals at my local zoo are rescues, so perhaps living in confinement beats dying to those animals?

dylan604 7y ago

Yup, just like going to the zoo in person. The first link I tried was the San Diego Zoo's Panda Cam, and all I saw was an image empty any pandas.

op03 7y ago

That Georgia Aquarium cam is awesome. I now need an AR layer that identifies whatever is swimming past.

anotherevan 7y ago

There's also some live cameras from the Melbourne Zoo in Australia. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS9UBqaUtoIXUhX0J1BnxwQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS9UBqaUtoIXUhX0J1BnxwQ