Everything about Zoo totally explained
A
zoo or
zoological garden is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred. Relatively new terms for zoos, which were coined in the late
twentieth century, are
conservation park or
biopark. Adopting a new name is a strategy by some zoo professionals to distance their institutions from the stereotypical and nowadays criticized zoo concept of the
nineteenth century.
Collections of wild animals existed already in the ancient civilizations of
Mesopotamia,
Egypt, and
China. In
medieval Europe some monarchs,
monasteries, and municipalities continued to maintain collections of wild animals. The transition from
menagerie, a predominantly private collection, to public institution marks the beginning of the modern zoo concept. Collections established during the
nineteenth century began calling themselves
zoological gardens. Throughout the
nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, many new zoos and related facilities were founded for very different motives and purposes.
Zoo professionals proclaim exalting and demanding aims for their institutions, from educating the public to conservation of
biodiversity. Many zoos define their aims as
recreation,
education,
research, and
conservation. Animal-rights groups claim that there's a wide gap between these claimed aims and actual practice, and that zoos have commercial and
entertainment purposes in mind as well as financial profit.
Types of zoo include urban, open-range, safari, animal theme, roadside, rescue, sanctuary, petting, and specialized. The most traditional form of maintaining wild animals in
captivity is keeping them in pits, barren
cages constructed of
concrete or
metal, in small
aviaries, or fenced paddocks. Most zoological gardens incorporated within international umbrella organizations are led by professionals such as
zoologists or
veterinarians.
Etymology
The terms
zoo and
zoological garden, that refer to
zoology (from
Greek: zωο,
zoion, "animal"; and λόγος,
logos, "knowledge"), didn't come into use until the modern zoo concept developed during the
nineteenth century. The Zoological Society of London first used this term to describe its collection at Regent's Park, although this collection was simultaneously referred to as a
menagerie. Most zoo founders of the
nineteenth century operated with the term
zoological garden to distinguish their institutions from the aristocratic and travelling
menageries.
The abbreviation
zoo first appeared in
Britain about
1847, when it was used for the Clifton Zoo, but it wasn't until some twenty years later that the shortened form became popular by a song called "Walking in the Zoo on Sunday". Relatively new terms for zoos, which were coined in the late
twentieth century, are
conservation park or
biopark. Adopting a new name is a strategy by some zoo professionals to distance their institutions from the stereotypical and nowadays criticized zoo concept of the
nineteenth century.
History
From ancient to modern times
Collections of wild animals existed already in the ancient civilizations of
Mesopotamia,
Egypt, and
China. In
ancient China, wild animals, especially exotic species, held the interest of rulers and the wealthy class. Starting with the founder of the
Shang dynasty (ca. 1500 BC), China's rulers built animal reserves. However, it was
Wen Wang, founder of the
Zhou dynasty (ca. 1000-200 BC), who built the first well-known animal reserve, which he called
Lingyou, commonly referred to as the "Garden of Intelligence". A more accurate translation would be "Garden for the Encouragement of Knowledge". This reserve and similar parks owned by the wealthy class of the Zhou period were large, walled-in natural areas that required their own staffs of administrators, keepers, and
veterinarians. The rulers of the
Han,
Qin,
Tang, and
Song dynasties continued the fashion of large royal parks, where birds and mammals were kept in cages for personal pleasure and the demonstration of wealth and power.
Also in the
ancient Greek and
Roman world live animal collections existed. Historians have written many publications about extravagant and bloodthirsty spectacles in Rome, involving wild animals. However, little has been written about the facilities of keeping those animals. The
Latin word
vivarium referred to the stockyards and
arenas where wild animals were held for public spectacles.
In
medieval Europe some monarchs,
monasteries, and municipalities continued to maintain collections of wild animals. One of these collections was the
Tower Menagerie in
London.
Menageries owned by monarchs and wealthy aristocrats can be seen as the predecessor institution of the modern zoological garden. The oldest existing zoo, the
Tiergarten Schönbrunn in
Vienna, evolved from such an aristocratic menagerie, founded by the
Habsburg monarchy in
1752.
Evolution of the modern zoo concept
The transition from
menagerie, a predominantly private collection, to public institution marks the beginning of the modern zoo concept. Collections established during the
nineteenth century began calling themselves
zoological gardens. In some cases this was simply fashionable since zoos were considered professionally managed facilities, whether they were or not. In other cases there was an emphasis on education and science rather than on entertainment.
The first modern zoo, established particularly for
scientific and
educational purposes according to its founders, was the
Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes as part of the
Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in
Paris (
1793). About thirty years later, the members of the
Zoological Society of London adopted the idea of the early Paris zoo when they established
London Zoo in
1827.
In the
United States, physician
William Camac initiated the incorporation of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia in
1859. According to the society's charter, "The object of this Corporation shall be the purchase and collection of living wild and other animals, for the purpose of public exhibition at some suitable place in the City of Philadelphia, for the instruction and recreation of the people." The
American Civil War interrupted these efforts so that the opening of the
Philadelphia Zoo delayed until
1874. Some years ago, about
1861/
62, a smaller zoo with lower standards had been already established in
New York City, the
Central Park Zoo. When the first American zoological gardens came into existence, only a few supporters of the early
animal welfare movement spoke out against zoos.
Humanitarians protested cruelty in training animals for
circuses more often than they opposed zoos. Their concerns were that zoo animals were healthy and well cared for, and not subjected to cruelty or pain.
Throughout the
nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, many new zoos and related facilities were founded for very different motives and purposes. Cultural and
philosophical attitudes as well as
political developments such as
imperialism had an impact on the appearance and aims of zoological gardens. Human beings were sometimes displayed in zoos along with non-human animals, supposedly to illustrate the differences between people of European and non-European origin (“
Human zoos”). According to historians Eric Baratay and Elisabeth Hardouin-Fugier the zoos of that period reflected the determination of
imperialist nations to classify and dominate.
When
ecology emerged as a matter of public interest through the
1970s, a few zoos began to consider making
conservation their central role, with
Gerald Durrell of
Jersey Zoo,
George Rabb of
Brookfield Zoo, and
William G. Conway of
Bronx Zoo leading the discussion. Since then, zoo professionals became increasingly aware of the need to engage themselves in
conservation.. The changes at zoos have served both the ideology of
environmentalism and the day-to-day needs of zoos to maintain their collections. Many of contemporary zoos led by professionals show fewer species and display social animals in groups; landscape
immersion exhibits replicate animal
habitats.
Aims
Zoo professionals proclaim exalting and demanding aims for their institutions, from educating the public to conservation of
biodiversity. Many zoos define their aims as
recreation,
education,
research, and
conservation.
Animal-rights groups claim that there's a wide gap between the claimed aims and actual practice, and that owners of zoos have commercial and
entertainment purposes in mind to increase their financial profit. Some zoos work to save endangered species, but most animals in zoos are bred in captivity for the purpose of public display, not species protection. In his 1985 critique of zoos,
philosopher Dale Jamieson asserted that zoos generally don't live up to their own goals, that zoo animals are deprived of freedom for little social or scientific good, and that zoos cause suffering without producing compensatory benefits for animals or people. Jamieson argues that a moral presumption against keeping animals in
captivity outweighs any benefit that might accrue from education, science, or species preservation. The
animal rights philosophy refuses zoos as a matter of principle. Keeping wild animals in
captivity is seen as human domination over other creatures.
French historians Baratay and Hardouin-Fugier see zoos as an allegory for the contradictions of modern
Western societies: "The zoo made concrete, in an enclosed space, what society wanted to do in nature, as, with the advance of urbanization, people felt an increasing need to preserve the wild. But the desire remained unrealized, because Western society didn't want its methods called into question, and because, in the final analysis, it preferred to transplant, delimit, cultivate and arrange nature however and wherever it liked, rather than leave places truly free of human influence."
Recreation
Recreation, which is close to
entertainment and
pleasure, doesn't benefit the
welfare of the zoo animals, but that of the zoo visitors. Jamieson points out that "we should have the honesty to recognize that zoos are for us rather than for the animals". According to
Swiss zoologist Heini Hediger recreation is one of the most important aims of the modern zoo in the face of proceeding
urbanization and alienation from
nature. People, especially from urbanized areas, should be given the opportunity to relax and to enjoy a naturalistic environment in their very neighbourhood.
Education
Since the beginning of the modern zoological gardens
education and therefore the propagation of
biological knowledge has been one of the most prominent aims claimed by zoo professionals. Already in
1829,
London Zoo published its first guide to the zoo. Today’s educational efforts of zoos concentrate mostly on
ecological and
conservation issues. The idea of conservation education at zoos has a longer history than it's often acknowledged. This idea was foremost among the goals of the
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum as it was planned in the early
1950s. Animal exhibits were one component of the
museum, which was begun with the goal of educating the public about the
plant life and scenic value of the
desert. Although the museum's focus was regional, and it wasn't a traditional zoo, directors of many American zoos looked to it as a model. Many zoos now have an
education department, a classroom, and full time educational officers.
Edinburgh Zoo has pioneered a scheme called "interlink" which combines the resources of the zoo, local
museums, and the
botanical gardens to create educational courses. Like several other zoos it offers teachers a range of courses from day trips with infants to intensive courses for advanced students. In
1991, over 50,000 students were involved with structured courses at Edinburgh Zoo. However, critics say that there's no educational value in exhibiting wild animals in artificial environments. According to them true respect for wildlife could only be stimulated by learning about animals in their
natural habitat. Rather than promoting respect for understanding behavioral and ecological aspects of animals, signs in zoos often provide little more information than an animal’s species, diet, and natural range.
Research
Classical zoological gardens played a role in
research in
comparative anatomy and
physiology in the
nineteenth century. Contemporary research efforts focus on
ethology and
conservation breeding. According to William Conway zoo science would contribute basic
biological information and technological know-how to the increasingly demanding tasks of
wildlife care in constricted
habitats.
Conservation
Up to now, only a few species such as the
Przewalski’s Horse, the
American Bison, or the
California Condor could be saved from extinction and reintroduced to the wild. The
American Bison, for example, was close to extinction at the beginning of the
twentieth century. In
1907, the
Bronx Zoo led by
William T. Hornaday was the first zoo to help the
American Bison Society with its reintroduction project, sending 15 bison to the Wichita Forest Reserve in
Oklahoma. Other reservation herds were established in succeeding years using additional zoo-bred animals. By
1933, there were 4,404 bison in the
United States and 17,043 in
Canada.
Although most species maintained in zoos are not endangered, and those that are will likely seldom be released into natural habitats, biologist
Colin Tudge emphasizes the urgency of
ex-situ conservation in zoos in the face of increasing threat to
natural habitats.
In 1993, the
World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), formerly known as the International Union of the Directors of Zoological Gardens, produced its first
conservation strategy. In November 2004, WAZA adopted a new strategy that sets out the aims and mission of zoological gardens of the twenty-first century.
The
captive breeding of
endangered species is coordinated by cooperative breeding programs. Under the auspices of WAZA, 182
International Studbooks are kept. These studbooks are coordinated by the
Zoological Society of London. About 810 animal species and subspecies are managed under cooperative breeding programmes at the level of the regional association members such as the
Species Survival Plan (SSP), established
1981, or the
European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), established
1985.
But critics point to the marginal contribution of zoos to the preservation of
biodiversity. Andrew Linzey, director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, argues that zoos make a "minuscule contribution to conservation."
Most conservation experts agree that few of the rare or endangered species can be saved from extinction by breeding them in captivity. In 1990, the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) drew up an action plan for the survival of 1370 species. It considered that the reintroduction of captive bred animals could assist in the conservation of only 19 species (1.4 percent).
How controversial
ex-situ conservation is, shows the
captive breeding program for the
critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros. Between 1984 and 1996, 40 Sumatran Rhinos were transported from their native habitat to zoos and reserves across the world. After years of failed attempts and a dramatic decline of the captive population, one individual gave birth to a healthy male calf at
Cincinnati Zoo in September 2001. This was the first successful captive birth of a Sumatran Rhino in 112 years. Two other calves followed in 2004 and 2007. Despite the recent successes in Cincinnati, the captive breeding program has remained controversial. Proponents argue that zoos have aided the conservation effort by studying the reproductive habits, raising public awareness and education about the rhinos, and helping raise financial resources for conservation efforts in Sumatra. Opponents of the captive breeding program argue that losses are too great; the program too expensive; removing rhinos from their habitat, even temporarily, alters their ecological role; and captive populations can't match the rate of recovery seen in well-protected native habitats.
Types
Urban zoos
Urban zoos are the classical zoological gardens that stand in the tradition of the
nineteenth century zoo concept, even if some of them changed their names to
Conservation Park or
Biopark. Most of them are relatively small in size and based within cities or urbanized areas, a fact that often complicates the construction of more sizable enclosures.
Open-range zoos
A number of open-range zoos have been established since the early
1930s in rural surroundings. The prototype is
Whipsnade Park,
England, established by the
Zoological Society of London in
1932 (600
acres, 2.4
km²). Fewer species are exhibited in such zoos than in urban zoos, but they're mostly kept in more sizable enclosures. The largest zoo in terms of size is the 1,800-acre (7 km²)
San Diego Wild Animal Park in the Pasqual Valley,
California, that's run by the
Zoological Society of San Diego. The
Werribee Open Range Zoo near
Melbourne,
Australia, concentrates on displaying animals living in a wide open
savanna. This 500-acre zoo is managed by the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board which also manages
Melbourne Zoo. One of only two American state supported zoos is the 535-acre
North Carolina Zoo located in
Asheboro, North Carolina.
Safari parks
A
safari park is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles and observe the wildlife, rather than viewing animals in cages or small enclosures. Most safari parks were established in a short period of ten years, between
1966 and
1975.
Animal theme parks
An animal theme park is a combination of an
amusement park and a zoo, mainly for
entertaining and commercial purposes.
Marine mammal parks such as
Sea World and
Marineland are more elaborate
dolphinariums keeping
whales, and containing additional entertainment attractions.
Another kind of animal theme park is
Disney's Animal Kingdom in
Orlando, Florida or
Busch Gardens Africa in
Tampa, Florida. These commercial parks are similar to open-range zoos according to size (550 acres, 2 km²), but different in intention and appearance since they contain far more entertainment elements (stage shows, roller coasters, mythical creatures etc.).
Roadside zoos
There are hundreds of substandard wildlife attractions throughout the
United States and
Canada called roadside zoos. These mainly amateur facilities are usually privately owned and occasionally accredited by the American zoo organization
AZA. The focus is on amusing customers, rather than on meeting the needs of the animals. Roadside zoos often lack trained, experienced animal care staff, proper funding and safety practices. Animals are confined to small, barren, often filthy
cages, and suffer poor welfare as a result of inadequate housing, care and diet. Roadside zoos breed animals in order to have a constant supply of cute babies to attract the public. Big cat rescues,
primate rescues, and native
wildlife rescues are overwhelmed due to the constant influx of animals coming out of roadside zoos.
Rescues and sanctuaries
Animal welfare supporters have funded the construction and set-up of
sanctuaries for wild animals. The animal welfare organization
WSPA established several of these facilities for rescued
bears worldwide. According to the organization those in
Greece and
Turkey have helped stamp out the tradition of forcing bears to perform tricks for public entertainment. Another type of sanctuary takes the form of a rehabilitation and release center. An example of this is the Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Center, where orphaned bear cubs are cared for and prepared for release back into the wild. Another sanctuary, especially for apes and primates, is 65-acre (0.26 km²)
Monkey World near Wool,
Dorset,
England. Set up in 1987 it was originally intended to provide a home for abused
chimpanzees used by Spanish beach photographers, but is now home to many different species of primates.
Petting zoos
A
petting zoo, also called children's farms or children's zoos, features a combination of
domestic animals and wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. To ensure the animals' health, the food is supplied by the zoo, either from vending machines or a kiosk nearby.
Specialized zoos
Some zoos specialized on specific groups of animals such as bird parks (
public aviaries), reptile zoos (
reptile centre,
serpentaria),
public aquaria or
butterfly zoos.
Exhibitry
Traditional enclosures and new approaches
The most traditional form of maintaining wild animals in
captivity is keeping them in pits,
cages constructed of
metal bars or
concrete, in
aviaries, or fenced paddocks, although many zoos replaced these by more elaborate and spacious enclosures.
German merchant
Carl Hagenbeck developed a new form of animal exhibition at the beginning of the
twentieth century. When he opened his private owned zoo at Stellingen near
Hamburg, (
Tierpark Hagenbeck) in
1907, Hagenbeck had broken with a strong tradition to exhibit animals in accordance with
taxonomy. He created a new style of exhibition based on ecological and geographical habitats including different
species. For example, the "Northern Panorama" exhibited
seals and
walruses in a pool in the foreground, with
reindeer behind them, and
polar bears behind the reindeer. The different enclosures were divided with moats not visible to the public, and the successive enclosures were higher than the one in front. The exhibits were landscaped with plants and artificial rocks. This gave the public the impression they were seeing the animals together in one natural habitat. After initial skepticism, many zoological gardens throughout the world adopted Hagenbeck's ideas and replaced traditional enclosures. Edinburgh Zoo, for example, was one of these institutions inspired by Hagenbeck’s new design. Even if this kind of exhibiting animals to the public was revolutionary in the history and evolution of zoo design, the actual space provided to the animals remained relatively small and was, in fact, not different from that of the traditional enclosures. The new panoramas benefited the aesthetic sense of visitors and can be seen as mainly
anthropocentric constructions.
From the
1950s on, first attempts were made to integrate the behavioural needs of the animals into zoo design. This approach based on the ideas of
Swiss zoologist Heini Hediger who published his book
Wild Animals in Captivity in 1942, translated into English in
1950. In this work he gave cogent arguments for a
biological and particularly behavioural approach to zoo design and animal care.But the attempts to integrate the knowledge about animal behaviour into zoo design were often ineffectual and not consequently implemented. More important than behaviour and welfare of the animals remained hygienic aspects and, above all, architectural innovation such as
New Brutalism. The Elephant and Rhino Pavilion at London Zoo, built 1962-1965, is such an example. Most enclosures constructed from the 1950s to the 1970s were sterile and small cages made of concrete or ceramic tiles.
Due to limited space and a lack of financial means it still remains difficult to construct adequate enclosures, particularly for large animals and their requirement for a sizable territory. According to animal rights groups, zoos lacking the financial means or the interest in constructing more elaborate enclosures still keep their animals in inadequate conditions.
These conditions can cause
stereotypic behavior.
Elephants in zoos can also often suffer from
arthritis and foot disease. Only some zoological gardens are able to raise enough funds and have sufficient space to build more adequate enclosures for these animals. Such an example is urban
Cologne Zoo,
Germany, which opened in
2004 an indoor and outdoor elephant enclosure of about five acres. In
2006, three
American zoos (
Lion Country Safari,
Philadelphia Zoo,
Gladys Porter Zoo) announced the closure of their elephant exhibits due to a lack of space. Two other zoos,
Bronx Zoo and
Santa Barbara Zoo, announced the phase-out of their elephant exhibits.
Landscape immersion
During the
1980s many zoological gardens, first in the
United States, changed their policy of designing animal enclosures. The so called "
landscape immersion", a term coined by
Seattle architect Grant Jones, transformed visibly the outlook and appearance of many zoos throughout the United States. The idea and concept of landscape immersion combines a naturalistic and realistic imitation of natural habitats with the environmental needs of the animals. It was developed by several landscape architects during the wholesale renovation of
Woodland Park Zoo in
Seattle in the late
1970s encouraged by zoo director David Hancocks. The first
landscape immersion exhibit, an enclosure for
gorillas, designed by Johnpaul Jones, opened in
1978 at
Woodland Park Zoo. For the first time, zoo gorillas had trees to climb, places to hide, a complex landscape to explore, and live vegetation to interact with. According to the original idea and philosophy of landscape immersion the visitors are given the sense they were actually in the animals' habitat. Buildings and barriers are hidden and vegetation plays a dominant role.
Specific forms of exhibit that can also be referred to landscape immersion are walk-through enclosures and walk-in aviaries. A few
European zoos had already realized such exhibits before the term landscape immersion was coined. These ideas were integrated into the concept of landscape immersion and consequently advanced. In contemporary zoos, there are a lot of walk-through exhibits, particularly for birds and small primates. One example is
Apenheul Zoo,
Netherlands, where visitors can get into direct contact with
squirrel monkeys and
lemuridae on moated islands.
Associated with these changes of zoo design are large tropical indoor exhibits.
Bronx Zoo’s 37,000-square-foot Asian rainforest "Jungle World", opened in
1985, is a pioneer exhibit of its kind.
Leipzig Zoo,
Germany, is currently building a similar, but more giant project, the so called "Gondwanaland".
The transformation of zoos according to the concept of landscape immersion is slow and still in progress since the changes require extraordinarily financial and technical expenditures.
Management and animal care
Cooperation
Related and similar institutions in aims, staff and history are
public aquaria. At the time when the first zoological gardens were established during the
nineteenth century also
public aquaria came into existence. Today, both zoos and public aquaria are integrated in the same national and international umbrella organizations. These
zoo associations proclaim to force their members to achieve certain standards in animal management,
veterinary care, aims, and stewardship.
Staff
Most zoological gardens incorporated within international umbrella organizations are led by professionals such as
zoologists or
veterinarians. Responsible for the actual care of the animals within these institutions are well trained
zoo keepers. Some keepers can become highly specialized such as those who concentrate on a specific group of animals like birds, great apes, elephants or reptiles. Daily basic duties of zoo keepers include cleaning and maintenance of animal enclosures and feeding of the animals. The educational requirements for an entry level zoo keeper vary but are often a college degree in
zoology,
biology or an animal-related field. Some colleges offer programs oriented towards a career in zoos. Job advancement is also possible but more limited than in some other careers requiring a college degree.
Some zoos, particularly roadside zoos, are private-owned amateur facilities with a lack of well trained personnel.
Animal care
Most contemporary zoos led by professionals are aware of
environmental enrichment, also called behavioral enrichment, as a part of the daily care of animals. Environmental enrichment refers to the practice of providing animals with environmental stimuli. The goal of environmental enrichment is to improve an animal's quality of life by increasing physical activity, stimulating natural behaviors, and preventing or reducing stereotypical behaviors.
But sometimes even those zoos proclaiming high standards can fail to meet them in some way. After a series of publicized
animal deaths at the
Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park (
National Zoo) in early 2003, the
National Academies released an interim report in 2004 and an final report in 2005.
Another example is the captive breeding management of great apes where these animals and their infants are traded and shuttled from place to place.
In the Badaltearing Safari Park in
China, zoo visitors can throw live goats into the lions' enclosure and watch them being eaten, or can purchase live
chickens tied to
bamboo rods to dangle into lion pens. Visitors can drive through the lion's compound on buses with specially designed chutes leading into the enclosure into which they can push live chickens. In the Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Mountain Village near Guilin in south-east China, live cows are fed to tigers to amuse visitors.
In Qingdao Zoo, near
Beijing,
China, visitors engage in "tortoise baiting," where tortoises are kept inside small rooms with elastic bands round their necks, so that they're unable to retract their heads. Visitors then throw coins at them. According to tradition, a wish made after hitting one of them on the head will be fulfilled.
Orcas,
Beluga Whales and
Bottlenose Dolphins are caught from the wild for public display around the world. In the past, dolphins captured in so called
dolphin drive huntings at the coasts of
Japan have been exported to the
United States for several
marine mammal parks. Other countries are still importing dolphins from the Japanese drive hunts, for example
China and
Taiwan.
The downside to breeding the animals in captivity is that thousands of them are placed on "surplus lists", and sold to circuses, animal merchants, auctions, pet owners, and game farms. The
San Jose Mercury News conducted a two-year study that suggested of the 19,361 mammals who left accredited zoos in the
United States between 1992 and 1998, 7,420 (38 percent) went to dealers, auctions, hunting ranches, unaccredited zoos and individuals, and game farms. Zoos have advertised surplus animals in the
Animal Finders' Guide, a newsletter in which the owners of hunting ranches post notices of sales and auctions.
Animals who breed frequently, such as deer, tiger, and lions may be killed for their meat. Deputy director of
Nuremberg Zoo,
Germany, said: "If we can't find good homes for the animals, we kill them and use them as feed." Other animals may be sold to smaller zoos with poor conditions. PETA cites the example of Edith, a chimpanzee found in a concrete pit in a roadside zoo called the Amarillo Wildlife Refuge in Texas. She had been born in
Saint Louis Zoo, but had been sold just after her third birthday, and for the next 37 years was passed around five other facilities before landing in the roadside zoo. It was alleged in March 2008 that hundreds of the
Berlin Zoo's 23,000 animals are missing, amid allegations that they've been slaughtered, and that some tigers and leopards were sent to China to make drugs for traditional
Chinese medicine.
Regulations
In the
United States, any public animal exhibit must be licensed and inspected by the
United States Department of Agriculture,
United States Environmental Protection Agency,
Drug Enforcement Agency,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and others. Depending on the animals they exhibit, the activities of zoos are regulated by laws including the
Endangered Species Act, the
Animal Welfare Act, the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and others. Additionally, zoos in North America may choose to pursue accreditation by the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). To achieve accreditation, a zoo must pass an application and inspection process and meet or exceed the AZA's standards for animal health and welfare, fundraising, zoo staffing, and involvement in global conservation efforts. Inspection is performed by three experts (typically one veterinarian, one expert in animal care, and one expert in zoo management and operations) and then reviewed by a panel of twelve experts before accreditation is awarded. This accreditation process is repeated once every five years. The AZA estimates that there are approximately 2,400 animal exhibits operating under USDA license as of February 2007; fewer than 10% are accredited.
In April 1999, the
European Union introduced a directive to strengthen the conservation role of zoos, making it a statutory requirement that they participate in conservation and education, and requiring all member states to set up systems for their licensing and inspection.
Image:Amurtiger.jpg|Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) in a landscape immersion exhibit at Zurich Zoo, Switzerland
Image:Edi2.jpg|King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) at Edinburgh Zoo
Image:San Diego Zoo entrance elephant.jpg|Main entrance of San Diego Zoo
Image:Lahore zoo Chimpanzee.JPG|Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) at Lahore Zoo, Pakistan
Image:View of the Zoological Gardens1835.jpg|A painting of the London Zoo in 1835.
Image:Animal artists at the Jardin des Plantes.jpg|Artists at the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes (Painting from 1902)
Image:Arnhemzoo1.jpg|Indoor exhibit at Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands)
Image:Hearst Grizzly Gulch - San Francisco Zoo.jpg|Bears (Ursus arctos) in at San Francisco Zoo
Image:inia.jpg|One of the rarest species in a zoo or public aquarium is the Amazon River Dolphin (picture from Duisburg Zoo)
Image:Seals@melb zoo.jpg|Sea lions at the Melbourne Zoo.
Image:Estátuadetigrezoológicorio.jpg|A jaguar statue in Rio de Janeiro's Zoological Garden
Image:Elephantsfrontgirlriodejaneiro.jpg|The old style elephant enclosure at Rio de Janeiro Zoo (Brazil)
Image:zoo-sp.jpg|Monkey islands at the São Paulo Zoo
Image:Chimpanzee in zoo AB.jpg|Chimpanzee in Warsaw Zoo / June 2006.
Image:Edith, PETA.jpg|This chimpanzee was born in the Saint Louis Zoo and passed to five other facilities before landing in a Texas roadside zoo 37 years later.
Image:ZigongPeople'sParkZoo2.jpg|A sick macaque in the Zigong People's Park Zoo, Sichuan, China.
Image:Dalian zoo bear cages, 1997.jpg|The bear cages, one square meter in size, in Dalian zoo, Port Arthur, Liaoning Province, China, in 1997
Image:Dolsling.jpg|Bottlenose Dolphin being loaded on to a truck after having been captured in a drive hunt in Futo, Japan
Image:Devi AsianElephant SanDiegoZoo 20071230 RockingBehaviour.gif|Stereotypic behavior of an Asian Elephant at San Diego Zoo
Image:Macaque-enclosure-Zigong.jpg|The macaque enclosure at Zigong People's Park Zoo, Sichuan, China, shows that small and close cages are still in use
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External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://zoo.totallyexplained.com">Zoo Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
