neverwondernever:

linddzz:

why-animals-do-the-thing:

speciesofleastconcern:

You are so very wrong. Without the expertise, staff, and actions of zoos there are many species that would already be extinct. Besides direct involvement in breeding and releasing, there are research teams, veterinarians, and full time conservationists all working at the best zoos. Your comment reminds me that we have a lot of work to do with public relations, more than anything else.

I see this and think of my friend who spent the last week posting videos from a survey of wild Black Footed Ferrets through his facility: a species that was down to 12 individuals and thought to be extinct, bred back through ultra-careful management into populations stable enough for reintroduction in the Midwest.

Zoos do so much, but much of it is unglamorous and underrepresented in their messaging.

Posts like this make me think of my boss, who is one of the original team members for the SECORE project which is studying coral spawning and sexual reproduction and recently came up with a method of “sewing” thousands of settled coral larva like seeds on devestated reefs. There is government funding for the project as a whole, but it wouldn’t be possible without the support, funding and hard work put in by the zoos and aquariums.

I think what can be hard to ‘see’ is the idea that animals in zoos are bred and/or only kept in zoos. Except, zoos have off exhibit animals.

‘Recently’ my state’s zoo had Panamanian Golden Tree Frogs put on exhibit. They didn’t just arrive. They were there for much longer. I don’t know for how long. They were off exhibit, for quarantine, but also for studying and conservation purposes. That colony is used for breeding so that the species may survive.

But that’s just it. As public, one doesn’t see these things.

They may see the old circus elephant, who sways. Or the blinded seal who cannot return to the wild. Or they see the primates, colonies bred in zoos, but aren’t destined to be released into the wild–those used for education in zoos.

What’s the alternative? Take them then from the wild? That’s worse. Better to have a zoo-based colony. It’s not bad for conservation, either. One bird species I was reading about was critically endangered. One of the individuals was held in a zoo; he had NO genetic relation whatsoever to any of other surviving population. He was EXTREMELY valuable for the species survival program. It wasn’t zoos that caused issue to his species. It was poaching, egg collecting, various environmental poisonings, etc. One contributor that was educational based: museum stuffing. It’s better to have an alive bird than a dead one. It’s still critically endangered, but that’s better than where it was.

The other alternative? Shutting zoos down entirely? An even worse prospect.

Zoos have two great prime functions: education and entertainment. It’s a problem: people don’t care about what they don’t know. People don’t care about that which has nothing to do with themselves. Forming connections is necessary for our planet. For many, leaving a city, a state, or the country isn’t possible. The zoo provides a really easy way for people to form worldwide connection and interest without leaving their city. That connection can help fuel interest in reducing plastics or water pollution.

A role of the zoo is never “finished.” Much like a hospital, really. You don’t run a hospital in hopes that one day, its unnecessary. It is necessary. Full stop. It will always be necessary. We may seek to lessen than necessity or to prevent some really stupid reasons it becomes necessary… but it will always exist for a reason. Zoos are necessary.

Even on a human front, zoos are important. I didn’t expect to work at a zoo and think “ah, yes, a service to humanity.” I was thinking “I don’t like humans much… but I love animals!”

I was wrong. The amount of happiness it brings people. The peace. The fresh air. Are people dicks and try to feed monkeys cheetos? Yes, and I will remain angry with them. But there’s a lot of good too. It can form interesting community bonding, like when EVERYONE wanted photos of the jaguars, but the jaguars wouldn’t stop fucking. It became a social hilarity. Someone tries to take a photo? No. The male has mounted the female. No one wants a selfie with some jaguars fucking in the background (I guess).