What do you do if you see an animal/human safety issue while at a zoo?

A few days ago, I witnessed a lioness find a long piece of rusty wire a guest had shoved into a gap in the fencing… and before I could grab it from the public side, she pulled it through and began chewing on it! I knew how to find someone to address the problem, and she’s fine (they recalled the lions indoors and found where she had dropped it) but it made me realize it’s something not everyone would know as much about.

So, if you’re at a zoological facility and see a safety issue - dropped objects in a habitat, animals eating or playing with something they shouldn’t, people climbing fences or trying to pet animals - here’s how you report it:

• Check if there’s staff in sight. Look for actual staff. Volunteers generally won’t be able to anything other than run to find someone who is staff.
• If you’re with a group, have someone stay to watch if it’s something like an object falling in, while another person goes to alert staff. It’ll be important for them to know if it got swallowed or where it rolled in the exhibit.
• Find someone with a radio! The fastest way to get information around the zoo is for staff to alert each other on the radio system. Keepers should all have radios. Education staff may or may not. Security will. Generally concessions people or ride operators don’t. Guest services, gift shops, and info stands might. I generally look for people who aren’t busy - and just ask “hey do you have a radio there’s a safety issue at X exhibit.” IMO this is the one time I personally think it’s okay to interrupt keepers while they’re working (as long as they’re not actively engaged with an animal for training or handling).
• If you can’t find anyone, pull up the zoo website or Google maps listing on your phone and call the number. Whoever answers should be able to pass the information on as appropriate. Sometimes you get stuck in a phone tree - I normally just try pressing zero.
• Once the message has been communicated I normally stick around (unless it’s an active emergency like someone in an exhibit) so I can tell responding staff what I saw and any details they need to know, like the color of a dropped water bottle.

In general, it is always way better for you to interrupt someone’s work or cut a line to alert staff to a safety issue than for an animal or person to get hurt. Some zoos have signs posted on grounds with a number to call if you notice a safety issue - it’s a great idea and I’d love to see all facilities do it!