Vienna zoo bans selfie sticks around penguins, sea lions

The world’s oldest zoo is dealing with a modern-day scourge: the selfie-stick.

And now, Vienna’s Schönbrunn Zoo is banning the ubiquitous devices, at least around its Humboldt penguins and sea lions.

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Visitors affixing their smart phones to the gadgets are bothering certain critters, according to the zoo, prompting some to even bite at the devices when they get too close for comfort.

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The zoo, which was founded in 1752 at Schönbrunn Palace for the Habsburg family before members of the public were invited in, started putting up warning signs. The cartoon signs also offer other valuable tips including, don’t feed the animals and don’t let your children climb into the animal enclosures.

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Oh, and if you’re dying to take a selfie using an extended reach, you still can still safely do so at other animal enclosures. Or, perhaps, ask someone to take your photo.

Photos Zoo Vienna Schönbrunn/Facebook

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