Abi the Asiatic lioness hits a ‘Christmas pudding’ decorated ball at London Zoo in central London, December 22, 2004. The decorated ball serves a practical purpose as part of the animal’s enrichment programs, according to the zoo, as various seasonal decorations and food-based Christmas presents were handed by keepers to animals ahead of December 25. TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlive779577
Going to the zoo is always an interesting experience for me. On the one hand, I love getting up close and personal with all the animals. I’ve found that the longer I spend watching them, the more personality they seem to have. For instance, the last time I went I spent a lot of time at the tiger exhibit. All the tigers except one were taking a nap. The one who wasn’t sleeping was pacing the cage restlessly and then finally started trying to wake up his fellow tigers by batting them obnoxiously in the face with his paw. They all just sort of groaned and went back to sleep. It was so cute!
However, I think sometimes zoos get a bad rap because all the animals are indeed in cages no matter how realistic the exhibits may be. But zoos serve more of a purpose than entertainment for small children. They play a critical role in conservation that many people don’t realize.
Many zoos are refuges for endangered animals. When scientists come across a critically endangered species, they usually send a few to a zoo to start a captive breeding program. This way if the species becomes extinct in the wild, at least there is a backup stock that they can work with. And the baby animals are always popular with the general public.
If a species that has gone extinct in the wild either globally or locally, zoos can step in and release some of their animals into their native range. This process is complicated and many times the introduction doesn’t stick, especially if the animal has lived in a zoo all their life. However, some of the most successful stories involve an animal being rehabilitated and then immediately released.
Another important function zoos fill is that of education. Anytime I go to a zoo there are always helpful zoo workers to answer any of my questions. Not only that, but zoos often put on different programs (Birds of Prey, Reptiles, etc) that people can go watch and learn about the animals they are paying money to see.
All in all, as long as the animals are managed properly zoos can be great institutions for helping out the global conservation effort.
To see more pictures from this collection, head back to Newscom.
Nov 12, 2007 – Wolong, China – Giant pandas living in the wild may face food shortages as more bamboo plants, which comprise the bears’ staple food, approach the end of their lifespan, Chinese naturalists warned, Xinhua News Agency reported. Pictured: Giant pandas pose for photos with experts. 16 baby giant pandas borned in 2005 get together at Sichuan Wolong Giant Panda Reserve Center in Sichuan province, November 30, 2005. ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: zumaltwo108270
Visitors watch polar bear cub Knut in Berlin zoo in this March 24, 2007 file photo. Knut, Germany’s celebrity polar bear, is poised to feature in a Hollywood film which could bring Berlin Zoo hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Zoo said January 3, 2008. The Zoo’s director is considering offers from several production companies and the most likely option is a film in the style of “Finding Nemo” or “Shrek”, he said. One-year-old Knut, who weighs about 100 kilos and has his own brand, captured public sympathy early last year after he was rejected by his monther Tosca and controversially hand-reared. ARND WIEGMANN/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrltwo649591
Zoo visitors watch fishes in the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg December 28, 2007. MORRIS MAC MATZEN/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrltwo643838
An employee of Burgers Ocean zoo takes a Jellyfish out of a aquarium in Arnhem, the Netherlands, 31 July 2007. The zoo currently holds extremely large numbers of Jellyfish. It is one of the only Zoo’s in Europe to succesfully breed captive Jellyfish. Vidiphoto/EPA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: epaphotosfour306596
A Zoo visitor lays a piece of chips on a tongue of a giraffe despite the fact that feeding of the animals is strictly forbidden in the Moscow Zoo, Sunday 06 August 2006. SERGEI CHIRIKOV/EPA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: epaphotosthree278439
Keeper Uwe Fritzmann feeds a hippopotamus with bananas at the Zoo in Berlin, Germany, 17 August 2007. Banana trees are planted at the hippo house. KLAUS-DIETMA GABBERT/EPA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: epaphotostwo219953
A Pileated Gibbon (Hylpbates pileatus) is relaxing in a hammock in the zoo of Zurich, Switzerland, 20 February 2008. ALESSANDRO DELLA BELLA/EPA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: epaphotostwo247279
austria armadillo zoo animal. Europics/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: epphotos002183
Students take pictures of a Clouded Leopard from the Columbus Zoo after a rally in support of No Child Left Inside Act, an initiative to strengthen environmental education programs. Tom Williams/Roll Call Photos/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rollcallpix041742
Or you might enjoy these other blogs about animals:
The Animals of Yellowstone National Park