For most people, the only way to see wild animals is at a zoo.  Kids find it entertaining to see the pandas climbing trees, lions laying in the grass, or gorillas interacting with other primates.  But over the years, there have been multiple discussions that zoos are prisons for animals being held captive and are harmful to their survival..

Four years ago, I read a book called The One and Only Ivan.  Ivan was a silverback gorilla who was kidnapped from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  For 27 years, he was a roadside attraction at the Big Top Mall in Florida, where he was fed a poor diet, lived in a tiny cage, and couldn’t roam freely.  Ivan wasn’t allowed to live as a normal silverback because he was kept for entertainment.

Many would agree that zoos provide an understanding of conservation.  As of April 2021, 241 zoos attracted over 181 million visitors, which is more than the 131 million yearly spectators of the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB combined.  The thing that makes people think zoos are beneficial is they say their work is saving polar bears, tigers, wild African elephants, and others from habitat loss. 

However, we should consider that many wild species that aren’t endangered are in the zoo.  In fact, there are few programs that help release animals back into their natural habitats.  According to an Animal Studies Repository review: “To date there is no compelling or even particularly suggestive evidence for the claim that zoos and aquariums promote attitude change, education, and interest in conservation in visitors.”

From a recent study of 35 species of carnivores, (brown bears, cheetahs, and lions), it showed that the zoo enclosures were insufficient for their normal routines.  Also:

Polar bears have an infant mortality rate of 65%.
About 70% of adult male gorillas have heart disease which is absent in the wild.
Captive elephants live about half as long as wild elephants.
It is also proven that zoo animals have psychological problems., which include clinical depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety due to small environments.  Changes in diet and changes in activities are also common.  Mental health issues such as eating feces, twitching, rocking back and forth, plucking hair, pacing, vomiting, and self-mutilation can be present.

Technology can help replace zoo experiences.  We can change how we learn about the animals living in their environments by using virtual zoos.  Exceptional nature content used to simulate the environment is not only a better experience for the wild animals, but is a better educational situation for people.  Shows like National Geographic have a collection of shows that can take people into realistic animal scenery which is better than the zoo.

It may be surprising to know that the first ever zoo to exist was found in Egypt and Mesopotamia in 2500 BCE..  The oldest operating zoo in the world is in Vienna which opened in 1752.  In 2018, I went to the Denver Zoo where I fed lettuce to the giraffes.  They bent down their long necks and wrapped their 16-inch-long tongues around the lettuce leaves.  I never thought of zoos being a jail for animals.  Now that I am older, I’ve come to realize that zoos can be fun for humans, but not fun for the animals.

Zoos should be like sanctuaries because they do not buy, trade, or sell animals.  They should never be kidnapped from the wild, their families destroyed, or not have the ability to live their lives to the fullest.  Sanctuaries take in animals that are injured, illegal exotic animals, and animals the zoos don’t want to keep.  An example of an outstanding sanctuary is located in Keenesburg, Colorado.  They take in large predators who have been treated poorly or any animal that might be euthanized.

“The caged eagle became a metaphor for all forms of isolation, the ultimate imprisonment.  A zoo is prison.” Quoted by Nadine Gordimer, she tells us that putting animals in zoos is a form of prison where they can’t move about.  They should be given every opportunity to live their lives freely and make their own decisions.