During that period, things could have "easily gone into a nosedive," Pottebaum said. Now do the same for a sibling or friend. At a time when scientists know more than they ever have before about the inner lives of animals–and when concerns about animal rights loom large–many experts think that zoos need a major overhaul if they’re going to last. Coe had been waiting for such an assignment since graduating from design school. They even touch hands with them through the glass. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Designers built it to be spacious enough to accommodate up to five bears, allowing them to have a social environment. It’s ironic that it also threatens one of the few institutions, zoos, which are dedicated to study and preserve nature and educate us all about a more balanced way of living in peace with it. Within a year of taking charge in Seattle, he hired Coe to rethink how zoo animals are kept in captivity. The documentary Blackfish showed the emotional damage wreaked upon orca whales at SeaWorld. But these primates actually live in Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Florida. Some changes are easy to spot: Enclosures have been expanded. More institutions may need to follow the lead of Seattle and others in closing down exhibits that fail to meet new standards and expectations–and the zoos that are most squeezed may be forced to close entirely as requirements from accreditors and patrons grow more taxing. The boat ride breaks down the barrier between animals and people while giving the elephants room to roam freely. The zoo, the city's top attraction, last spring closed closed temporarily due to COVID-19, reopening May 18. The hitch is that many established zoos may not be able to fund a transformation of that scope. However, zoos could perform new tasks in the future – and look completely different. Monkeys scale a 50-foot tree. Hancocks had something different in mind. You are being redirecting to Scholastic's authentication page... For more support materials, visit our Help Center. Should z oos exist? They point to studies that have shown that animals in captivity suffer from anxiety, boredom, and stress. As You Read, Think About: Is it our responsibility to protect animals from becoming extinct? “I guess I’m worried.”. iv) changes that were made in zoos. Such efforts may sound noble. You have 3 free articles left. The public loved it, and since then zoos have spread across the globe to practically every major city, from Buenos Aires to Kabul. Critics say that zoos are more concerned with having baby animals. Zoo exhibits are being redesigned for the animals’ physical and psychological well-being. Check out Junior Scholastic At Home for our favorite stories and tools to kick off your year. At the 'Symposium on the Future of Zoos', held at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York in February 2012, these experts made some startling predictions. In sanctuaries, “the animals’ health and well-being are a priority. For example, elephants can recognize themselves in mirrors. Haven't signed into your Scholastic account before? “That moment at a zoo, when a person sees a gorilla look them back in the eye, helps them grasp their role in a greater natural world,” says Mike Clifford who works with zoos at GLMV Architecture. Animals … But new understanding about the lives of creatures in captivity is transforming how zoos treat and exhibit animals. Many have dedicated their life to working with animals and have formed deep bonds with the creatures under their care. Across the U.S. and around the world, zoos are finding that balancing the demands of entertainment, education and conservation is increasingly difficult, The Future of Zoos: Challenges Force Zoos to Change in Big Ways. Once it’s back in the wild, the animal has to be monitored. Such repetitive behaviors are not seen in the wild, Marino explains. In Philadelphia, officials hope Zoo360 will provide those moments of connection, but they have also invested in other unusual ways of structuring their exhibits. Directly in front of her as she strolled down the zoo’s main walkway was a Siberian tiger, a 400-plus-lb. Then use that evidence and additional research to write an argument essay. Every year, nearly 1 million people visit the zoo to watch the apes and monkeys run overhead through tunnels, to film them climbing, and even to touch hands with them—through the glass. “That doesn’t mean that people have to go and look at them.”. Natural vegetation has replaced concrete. Nearly two centuries after the first modern zoo opened in London’s Regent’s Park, the very concept of a place where families can visit and observe animals is being questioned like never before. Modern zoos often resemble a Hollywood version of Africa on a B-movie set. About 20 zoos worldwide have followed this approach. Subscribe for just $18. Write a letter to members of your community explaining your decision. For more than 25 years, DZS has been working with an obscure, small … Efforts to breed certain endangered species, such as giant pandas and lowland gorillas, have proven difficult—and, as in the case of the Sumatran tigers at the London Zoo, sometimes deadly. Can Guaranteed Income Improve Maternal Health? The first true zoo, founded in London’s Regent’s Park in 1828, did seek to further scientific understanding of animals. Young gorillas wrestle together playfully. The animals are native to Africa’s forests, and this habitat reflects that. Elephants sway. “You have to be part of the conservation story. Subscribe for just $18. People have kept animals in cages for thousands of years. Within a few years, the animal-rights movement would see growing mainstream interest. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. But the most common answer–fostering empathy for animals–is becoming harder to do while providing humane care to these animals. Study Present Zoo Trends 3. Landscape details are artificial, and fake grass is electrified to keep animals in one place. “People are much more likely to want to help conserve an animal if they learn about it and see it up close,” Vernon explains. Researchers in the Galapagos spent years trying to breed him with females of a closely related species (at one point some even considered showing him an X-rated tortoise film), but he had no interest. Such repetitive behaviors aren’t seen in the wild, Marino explains: “When you see a tiger pacing, that means it is very stressed.”. ANSWER: Increasing the well-being of the animals. The primates’ large enclosure is very different from the metal cages that were once standard in zoos. Ask a dozen zoo directors why these places should exist today and you’ll get a different answer every time. Not even those who have advanced the cause for more-humane exhibits have an answer. Foremost among those efforts are breeding programs. Tigers, red pandas, and other creatures cross the zoo overhead in mesh bridges and tunnels that give them more choice in where and when they roam. Critics say that knowing animals have such complex feelings should stop zoos from keeping them captive, with little control over their lives. For a mother escorting her kids through the Philadelphia Zoo, it was a close encounter of the ferocious kind. Some of the zoo officials I spoke with used words like “extremist” and “zealot” and said they feared the movement would ultimately end the good they believe comes from their zoos. Is it OK to keep animals in zoos? By Andrew C. Revkin. One study found that carnivores with naturally large ranges, such as polar bears, lions, and tigers, show the most stress in captivity. In And Jacksonville Zoo’s year-old great ape exhibit features several computerized learning stations. Other changes are more behind-the-scenes: Zoos are teaming up to save endangered species. The History and Future of Zoos - with you Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Do the animals have enough space? Many show signs of stress and boredom. He thinks the answer lies in fostering human-animal connections–and making sure those experiences also help sell tickets. Recently, the debate over keeping wildlife in captivity has grown even more heated. They argue that zoos are inhumane. Plus, success stories like the red wolf’s are rare, Minteer says. It can take many millions of dollars. “That is not conservation.”. Life in captivity is often difficult for animals, Marino says. Across the U.S. and around the world, zoos are finding that balancing the demands of entertainment, education and conservation is increasingly difficult. Modern zoos became popular in the early 1800s in Europe, and they still capture humans’ fascination. Seal of Approval What is that goal? According to a group of zoo professionals and researchers at an international conference, zoos of the future will be high-tech affairs. Those efforts include breeding endangered animals. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our. Sanctuaries resemble animals’ natural environment and range more than zoos do, Marino says. They tell visitors over and over that zoos are saving wildlife, and visitors think, Oh good, the species are saved.”. Elephant research has prompted more than 25 zoos in North America to close their elephant exhibits in recent years, sending their herds to sanctuaries with more room to roam. Pressure to develop state-of-the-art exhibits like this one means that most zoos will eventually need to reduce the number of animals they house. You have 1 free article left. People aren’t getting close to them. A good example is the St. Louis Zoo’s new polar bear exhibit, a $16 million facility tailored to reflect the latest research about the animal’s needs. “But evolution is like a tree or a bush branching in all directions.”, When David Hancocks assumed the role of director of Woodland Park Zoo in 1975, it looked a lot like any other major-city zoo. The technology helps reduce boredom and gives the gorillas a chance to have a say in their care. Zoo traditionalists greeted the idea with skepticism. Coe believes these changes are just a taste of what to expect next. Access this article and hundreds more like it with a subscription to Junior Scholastic magazine. That, of course, was the original idea. When Coe looks ahead, he sees an even greater divergence between the biggest, best-funded zoos and the rest of the pack. Education, conservation and science all come up. People aren’t getting close to them. “Each one of these cases takes an enormous effort: multiple zoos, government agencies, scientists, volunteers. Coe also thinks zoos could face new competition from virtual-reality technologies, which could provide people an up-close experience without their having to leave home. “They give an illusion that they’re making progress, but I think from the animal’s point of view, they’re really no better off.”. I’m not sure that they aren’t going to move on to gorillas, then other primates, and then what?”. But the male mauled the female to death before zookeepers could intervene. In addition, the AZA helps coordinate zoos’ efforts to protect more than 500 species. Philadelphia Zoo. At the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., research on elephants is helping scientists develop a vaccine for a potentially fatal virus. “Each one of these cases takes an enormous effort—multiple zoos, government agencies, scientists, volunteers. One side speaks of an important contribution to education, science, and species protection, while the other side says that zoos are crammed into animals for purely entertainment and commercial purposes. Subscribe for just $18. Find at least three pieces of evidence in the article or sidebars to support your opinion. The Next Fifty, Seventy-Five and One Hundred Years? Microsoft PowerPoint - Future_of_Zoos_Hill_withNotes_compressed_ (Slide 12) Here’s an example. Some changes are easy to spot: Enclosures have been opened up. THE FUTURE AND ETHICS OF ZOOS . Tigers, red pandas, and other creatures cross the zoo overhead in mesh bridges and tunnels. Other endangered animals bred in captivity–particularly large animals like elephants, lions and bears–could never adapt to the wild and will inevitably live the rest of their lives in zoos. Teaching Tools Polar bears rock their heads. “The Future of Zoos” symposium is sponsored by a generous grant from Al and Noura Gress, friends of Canisius College. Still, even supporters know that zoos must maintain a delicate balance of keeping their animals happy, giving visitors access to them, and protecting animals from extinction in the wild. As a result, both zoo and aquarium animal welfare policy and science are now at the center of attention within the world's professional zoos and aquariums. THE FUTURE OF ZOOS . Around them, massive rock formations, tropical plants, and long grasses fill the landscape. When those factors aren’t present, elephants tend to have impaired mental states and do not carry out basic functions like reproduction. Zoos have helped the black-footed ferret, the red wolf, and a handful of other species recover from the brink of extinction this way, says Ben A. Minteer. 2) According to Adrian Fuller, zoo reforms have not fully achieved their goal. Are such changes enough to make life in zoos positive for animals? This system gives them more choice in where and when they roam. To some leaders in the field, the Philadelphia Zoo is the best model out there, but on the other side of the country, a different vision of the future is playing out. His species died with him. He has been one of the zoo world’s foremost thinkers for four decades. That group officially certifies zoos that meet strict standards for animal care, conservation, and education. The role and consequent shape of zoos has changed over the centuries, but, in the increasingly unpredictable world of ours, what could, or rather should a future zoo look like? Elephants, for example, can recognize themselves in mirrors. Ethical concerns have been coupled with safety fears–both for people and for critters–following an incident in May when officials at the Cincinnati Zoo shot and killed a 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe to protect a child who’d fallen into the exhibit. But they can visit a zoo and see them up close,” says Rob Vernon of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). But the bigger impact of Zoo360, says its chief operating officer, Andrew Baker, may be its effort to transform the experience of animals in captivity. “If you cannot connect every single exhibit to something in the wild, then you shouldn’t build it,” says Rick Barongi, a former Houston Zoo director. They have been prompted to do so by destruction of habitats, illegal hunting, and research about how captivity affects the well-being of animals. Bonobos shriek and swing on vines. The AZA strongly encourages zoos to spend at least 3% of their budgets on field conservation efforts. Popular culture has helped make the case. Zoos used to be almost entirely focused on entertaining humans. But, he adds, “people are still going to zoos. Behavioral studies have demonstrated that some species experience social relations previously not understood. Guests Dennis Kelly Director, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute; oversees the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia Zoos used to be almost entirely focused on entertaining humans. This past February, the London Zoo in the United Kingdom tried to mate two Sumatran tigers. Modern zoos, which became popular in the early 1800s in Europe, have continued to capture humans’ fascination. Plus, some endangered animals do not have a natural habitat to return to, says Lori Marino.
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