#JurassicZoo Overtakes the Internet

Photo credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Universal Pictures

It was simple scene in this summer’s mega hit, “Jurassic World,” but it took on a life of its own Wednesday when zookeepers everywhere started posted their re-enactment of it.

The scene in question is where Chris Pratt’s character, Owen, tames a trio velociraptors. That scene resonated with zookeepers because it showed the kind of training zookeepers do with their animals, said Rick Schwartz, a San Diego Zookeeper who help started the meme, #JurassicZoo.

He tweeted a picture on his public persona’s page, @ZooKeeperRick, and it took off. Pretty soon, zoos everywhere started to get in on the fun, including the California Academy of Sciences in the Bay Area.

“I think there seven or eight zoos doing it now,” Schwartz said.

But the idea didn’t originate from him. He saw a few posts from his colleagues online (the zookeeping community is a tight-knit one) and thought the idea was a fun one. He asked Nicole Leslie from the Santa Ana zoo for her permission to post her picture on his public page.

The rest, as they say, is history. Schwartz certainly didn’t think it was going to go viral.

“The Internet is like the white-water rapids,” he said. “It’s gonna take you where it’s gonna take you.”

The one thing Schwartz hopes to come from the Internet fame is that people take notice and visit their local zoos, he said.

“To go see some real animals instead some CGI ones,” he said.

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