Nowadays, zoos are not attractive to most young and old people since people get tired of seeing animals just through windows and watching performances of sea animals. But some zoos in Sydney provide visitors a chance to “cuddling koalas, hand-feed kangaroos or pat reptiles”. Even the cost is not low, there are still a lot of people who are willing to try. These new activities help the zoos earn money and become competitive among the industry. Also these activities form a win-win situation between zoos operators and visitors. It is a brand new experience for visitors to get close contact with animals which they could just see from far away before. Also, this experience can help people know the animal better through close distance. For zoo operators, these activities can help zoos make money not just through selling souvenirs but also this “close relationship”. The money can reduce the financial burden of the zoo since it costs a lot for the zoo to hire people to take care of the animals. Also, more money means animals can get better food, better care and better life.

Not only in Sydney, but also in other places of the world, zoos provide close contact with animals. For example, in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, a zoo provides the activity of hugging the panda. In the future, there must be more and more zoos to provide this kind of service.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29369091