Most zookeepers go into the business because they love animals–or at least one would hope so! But zookeepers at a zoo in Oregon decided to express their animal love in a unique way, by Tweeting an Amazon-style “review” of their favorite critter, an otter.

The Oregon Zoo wasn’t done. Next, an owl got the Amazon review treatment:

And just like that, a hashtag was born. Zoos, aquariums, and parks around the country began reviewing their animals under the hashtag #rateaspecies.

This is all being done in good fun, but some places used the trending topic to slip in some facts about their animals, like the pika, a mammal found mostly in Asia.

Here’s what the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical had to say about one of the colobus monkeys, a thumbless primate found in Kenya.

Of course, not all Amazon reviews are positive, and neither are animal ratings. The Monterey Bay Aquarium also reviewed otters, but knocked off a star:

Some folks went playfully negative as a way of highlighting what’s unique about an individual animal in their collection, like this albino alligator:

Or this echnida:

To be sure, there were a handful of legitimate gripes as well. (Try spending every day with animals and see if one doesn’t get on your nerves.)

But all in all, #rateaspecies is a fun, positive trend that educated us about some pretty interesting animals. And in that spirit, here are a few more animal ratings:

How would you review your favorite animal? Let us know in the comments!

 

h/t: Simple Most and IFL Science