Lawsuits that suck

We went to an interactive zoo here in Cancun, which illustrates a major difference between Mexico and the U.S.  In Mexico, there seems to be less fear of stupid lawsuits, so you can have more fun.

The zoo was small, and if it hadn’t been interactive it would probably have been boring. But they actually let you in to the habitats and can hold and feed some of the animals. I held a crocodile and a snake, and fed deer, birds and monkeys. Many of the monkeys are wild and just hang out at the zoo for the free food.

I would do the same because free food is a motivator for me. I’m not that far removed from the monkeys in that respect. Also, I have that big gap between by big toe and the other four, and can curl them all under.

The most amazing part was the macaw. We got to feed this bird some peanuts. She’d take the peanut and softly crack the shell with her beak. Then she’d stick in her tongue and fish out the peanut, and put the shell with the other nut in her claw. Then she'd hold the peanut gently with her beak, put on enough pressure to break the red skin that’s on the actual nut, and peel it! She’d drop the skin and eat the peanut. Amazing. She could get the whole peel off in a single piece. I wish I’d have video taped it.

Feeding monkeys and deer is one thing, but when we got to the crocodile enclosure, and the zookeeper opened the gate and said, "Come on in," I knew I was in a different world.  There was a crocodile sleeping right in the walkway.  The zoo guy drew a line with his foot a few feet behind, and then snapped this photo.

Then he picked up his tail and moved him like a wheelbarrow and we cruised on by, again, just feet away.

We signed a waiver before going into the zoo, but I think the big differences between our two countries is that when people in Mexico do something stupid, it's recognized as their own stupid fault.  In the U.S., when someone is drunk breaks into someone else's pool and cracks their head open, it's somehow the pool owner's fault for not having razor wire on top of their fence.  When my friend got a trampoline, they were so afraid of liability that they made everyone sign a waiver before jumping on it.

If someone at a zoo in the U.S. brought bolt cutters and broke into an animal enclosure, I'm sure that would be the zoo's fault.  But in Mexico, they explain the rules, you follow them, and the zoo seems unafraid that they'll be destroyed if you act like an idiot.  I wish we had a willingness to let idiots suffer back home.