Years ago at the Abilene Zoo I was in the gloss enclosed area opposite the Jaguar area. Wailer, the older brother of the two Jaguars, was a few inches away on the other side of the glass.
In a Fletch moment I barely pointed behind me, at an empty baby carriage, and said: “Look, a helpless baby!” whereupon Wailer jumped to attention to stare at the potential morsel.
So don’t dismiss the ability of animals to understand.
Now, that aside, there were other times you could tell that the animals at that zoo were really somebody’s little darlings. Once I made an ear scratching motion towards Wailer and he threw his whole shoulder against the glass as if to say: “Yes, please!” There was also a secretary bird that loved head scratches. But you didn’t eat peanuts in front of the elephant without sharing ... she knew how to use a piece of a tree to systematically tear down her enclosure if you didn’t share....