Personal Narrative: The Virginia Zoological Park

One of the most fun, visually amazing functions to visit are zoo's. Growing up as a kid going to the zoo was so much fun and basically guaranteed a great day out. People have been complaining and questioning the role of zoo's for a long time now. Some claim that it actually kills the animals off faster. Others claim that zoo's actually help protect and preserve the lives of these animals. Only one can make a reasonable argument by studying sources, and finding out statistics. Based off of the articles, "The Stripes Will Survive", "The Zoos Go Wild", and "Our Beautiful Macaws and Why They Need Enrichment", we can truly get in-depth analysis about the role zoo's play.

As the animal rights movement has developed and grown substantially in recent years, there has been an increased focused on the welfare of captive animals. A popular institution that has received much attention for keeping animals captive is the zoo. Because of this focus, zoos have responded by publicizing their positive benefits for existence in order to justify keeping these animals on display. Since the term “zoo” can have a wide variety of meaning and characteristics, it is important to define what constitutes a zoo in this essay. Zoos are defined as a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and

THESIS: Within the 10,000 zoos in America, hundred, 214 to be exact, have and continue to gain accreditation to become a public animal advocacy to protect and maintain animal species for years to come and through their efforts, they can better educate the civilians who enjoy visiting such attractions.

Zoos present a certain blend of nature and culture. They have always provided a way to bring natural wildlife and urban Americans together as a means of entertainment. Yet, throughout the years the role of zoos have changed. Though once used for amusement, zoos are now being used for education on preservation and the welfare of endangered species. One may wonder where and how the idea of zoos started and just how they, and the environment around them, have changed throughout history.

People think that animals want to be in zoos, but they really do not. In some zoos the owners or zookeepers see how the environment is making the animals feel bad or good and they try to change it by giving the animals a similar habitat to where they came from. All three stories “The Stripes Will Survive”, “The Zoos Go Wild”, and “Our Beautiful Macaws and Why They Need Enrichment” deal with protecting animals but they all do so in different ways.

“Before the early twentieth century, zoos would separate humans from the animals by using a series of moats. In the early 1900s, however, zoos “began displaying animals in realistic exhibits that mimicked actual habitats” (Gioielli, 2016, p. 1). Coupled with the more natural habitat is advancing care for the animals in captivity. More hospitals are being built for animals and better medicine is being created constantly. As a result of healthier and happier animals in increased popularity of animals in captivity. According to Carey (2016), “More than 10,000 zoos are now in operation worldwide . . . the central missions of zoos [are] not only to serve as attractions for recreation and amusement, but also to educate people and promote conservation . . .” (p. 2). Most people do not go to see animals in captivity for the sole purpose of entertainment, they also go to learn about the animals themselves. Both children and adults can learn about how to help protect endangered animals and their habitats. As a result, zoos and aquariums are continually gaining popularity. According to Gazert (2017), “Zoos and aquariums draw 181 million visitors per year in the United States--that’s over half the country’s population, and more visitors than the annual attendance of the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB games combined” (p. 2). Unfortunately, some zoos and aquariums have been known to abuse their animals. While this is not true of all zoos, but the reports of abuse have increased leading to more controversy. Because of this the idea of keeping animals in captive is harder to accept. Still, the sad truth is that animals may have to be in captivity in order to save their species. “A recent report from the World Wildlife Fund warned that without swift and substantial human intervention, over two-thirds of the world’s wildlife could be gone by the end of the decade” (Ganzert, 2017, p. 1). Predictions

For imaginative children the first visit to the Zoo is a day of joy, yet not unmixed with doubt. To such, and especially to the solitary children, the creatures have existed as living realities, yet unseen; part of the

My choice was orangutans, the "man of the forest" which reside on two islands in Indonesia called Sumatra and Borneo. I wish to learn more about their behavior, their ability to live in solitary but also be social at the same time. I think it is fascinating that they are orange and live high up in trees mostly. They are gentle and seem like little old people to me, yet they are so different and clearly wild animals. I've always been so curious why orangutans are so similar to us but are so far down the primate line from us. My experience at the Sacramento Zoo was enjoyable, I noticed all the toys and food they had around in their enclosure. All the primates ignored everyone for the most part but I was able to sort of get their attention with sticks and they seemed intrigued for a moment. Thier was no zoo keepers around to ask the gender though so I wasn't able to find that out. The orangutans were Sumatra Orangutans that are red-orange with light colors throughout the hair, there were two together in the Sacramento Zoos orangutans enclosure. One was smaller and the other was bigger, they both were sitting on a branch high up in their man-made jungle gym. The bigger one was snacking on a branch of leaves and the other was sunbathing nearby. They both used the branches they were sitting on as hammocks always gripping them with their long hands. The two orangutans

One day I went to the columbus zoo with my family it was so much fun. There were a lot of animals that were thair. There are animals that are there that are my favorite. The zoo is always filled with new animals every day. The animals I like are the lions, birds, and the the sea animals I like the manatees,and sharks are my favorite. What I like the best is the sea part of the zoo I like that part because I learned new things about the sea naum animals.

American zoos developed in the midst of America’s transition from an agricultural to an industrial society. In an imposing industrial setting, city parks and zoos provided an intimate encounter with nature that had been previously foreign to urbanites. An invention of modern western culture, zoological parks provided education as well as amusement for the public. Jeff Stotts, zoo historian indicated “The three-pronged goal of the first zoos— public recreation, wildlife preservation, scientific and conservation education—shaped the development of the institution.” In the words of historian Elizabeth Hanson, “Natural settings in zoos were intended to confirm visitor expectations of a transcendent experience in the presence of natural wonders,

Thesis Statement: In 1934, when Brookfield Zoo was introduced by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, it attracted many people due its title as, "the first zoo to be educational" for its visitors. Since its beginning, Brookfield Zoo gave children and adults the opportunity to gain more intelligence on how important it is to care for animals and their environment. In order to make sure their visitors get this knowledge, Brookfield constructed programs, classes, and tours that would be enjoyably edifying for all. It would allow those people to disperse the word of educational zoos to impact other zoos worldwide so they too can offer their visitors an opening at enlightenment about wildlife.

Although my newfound solace from the plight that had regulated the overall trip was highly appreciated and ultimately efficacious it was not without trial. This satisfaction apparently had to be well earned; as within the first hour of a four-hour zoo outing, the discomfort of an extremely humid and terribly hot day began to set in and rapidly elevate my body temperature. Alongside these natural forces at work, my impractical decision to bring only my favored long-sleeved shirts simply aided in refuting a complete change of these nasty events taking place. Contrary to all the adverse conditions of this expedition, my first trip is classified as one of my most cherished excursions to date. Which is owed to my interactions at each animal exhibit lifted my spirits ever so high that I still preferred to walk the entirety of a ten mile route, spite the shuttle availability and this choice was to fully grasp the authenticity of the environment per regional variation. Actually, the amazing wildlife encountered that day had such a positive impression that I can still clearly recall the names of key animals,

Animals are meant to roam miles and miles every day. These animals are contained every hour of every day in small enclosures that prohibit the animals from following their basic instincts. Looking at the tigers, I could very clearly see how this was affecting the animals. The tigers’ whole body was round and looked like a balloon. Although it was an adorable sight, I immediately noticed that the tigers were so fat they would roll around on the ground instead of walking. I quickly stopped smiling when I realized just how miserable the tigers looked and

Modern zoos have an important role in the conservation of many species. Each of these species have their own requirements to be able to live a healthy life in captivity. In this husbandry manual, the focus will be on the gorilla species (Gorilla gorilla) emphasizing the subspecies Gorilla gorilla gorilla, known as western lowland gorilla. This animal is in the list of critically endangered species; therefore the conservation programs performed by the zoos are very important to keep this species among us. In order to keep the health and welfare of gorillas, a series of requirements should be followed. This includes, nutritional, reproductive, and housing requirements, which will be discussed throughout this assignment.

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is one of the best-known large mammals and the largest living cat. However, their numbers in the wild are decreasing significantly. According to Seidensticker et al. (2010), there are three subspecies becoming extinct since 1940s. Particularly, Panthera tigris sumatrae or also known as Sumatran tiger is now listed as critically endangered, with around 300 individuals proposed to be living in the wild (Seidensticker et al., 2010). Nowadays, tigers are facing serious conflict with humans over resources in their natural habitat as human activity largely causing their decline. In addition to in situ efforts, wildlife parks and zoos play an important role in the conservation of this species. Nowadays, it is believed that there are more tigers in captivity including wildlife parks, zoos, and circuses compared to in the wild (Szokalski, 2012). Thus, it appears opportune to explore what is the best practices for captive management in zoos, in order to obtain a greater understanding of how to improve their lives in captivity.