Liability?

Someone told me that there is no civil court system in New Zealand. I don't know if that's true or not, but it certainly seems like the thought of liability doesn't even cross people's minds here. For example, can you think of a U.S. zoo where you can do this? While this guy just chills about 5 feet away?

If I look suspicious its because I was being "a giant baby". Sorry, I guess I was just pampered by being raised in a country that puts guardrails on roads on the edges of cliffs, warns people when they might be in danger of tsunamis, and actually puts fences around the animals in zoos.