Zoos are special places for animals, so it is very important to know what one should not do in a zoo. Visitors may disturb animals knowingly or unknowingly. There are often signboards in Zoos which tell people the things that should not be done. These instructions must be taken seriously.

The National Zoological Park at New Delhi has been declared a 'no polybag' zone. No visitor can bring a plastic bag with food material into the zoo. This has been done to protect the animals, as plastic bags, empty, as well as with leftover snacks, which are dumped on the lawns or inside animal enclosures, may be swallowed by the animals. Polythene bags are nonbiodegradable and cannot be digested. They can clog the digestive tract, and suffocate the animals to death.

There are two very important things that visitors to zoos must remember.

This is the number one rule in a zoo. Each animal needs a different type of food. the food given at the zoo is special and similar to what the animals feed on in the wild. If they are fed with biscuits, wafers, etc. by the visitors, animals lose their appetite for the type of food they are meant to eat. Animals may also get infected with human diseases when visitors give them food. This can make animals sick and even lead to deaths.

Many people think taht they are helping the animals by feeding them. this is where education to visitors to zoos becomes very essential.

Instead of feeding animals, it would be a good idea to wait until their keepers feed them, and have fun watching.

Shouting, hissing, making faces, throwing things, running in front of the cage, waving sticks - such activities disturb and irritate animals. Animals will be a lot happier if the surroundings are quiet. Sounds that animals make can also be heard if silence is maintained.

Animals are very shy and sensitive and have their own routine. Some stay awake at night and sleep most of the day, and if visitors disturb the animals just because they want to see the animals moving around, it disturbs their routine. Some animals need privacy and may be hiding. If the animal is hiding, one can come back later and check. People often expect animals to be active all the time, as though the animal wanted to meet and react to them at that precise moment!

Teasing is a major cause of suffering for zoo animals. Teasing causes mental stress. Even seemingly "harmless" teasing such as snapping fingers at the animals, calling, hissing, or running in front of the cage, may be irritating to the animals

Other behaviours of the visitors like spitting and smoking can prove dangerous to animals. Bringing pets to zoos is also not allowed - the fear is that the zoo animal might catch some infection. All these acts can adversely affect the health of the zoo animals.