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Zoological garden |
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A zoological garden, shortened to zoo, is an institution in which living animals are exhibited in captivity. In addition to their status as tourist attractions and recreational facilities, modern zoos may engage in captive breeding programs, conservation study, and educational outreach. Zoos are a subject of controversy stemming from many sources, including the quality of life of the animals they exhibit, and the perceived necessity or purpose of exhibiting captive animals at all. Zoos are frequently criticized by animal rights groups. 1
Collections of wild animals existed already in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China. In medieval Europe some monarchs, monasteries, and municipalities continued to maintain collections of wild animals. The transition from menagerie, a predominantly private collection, to public institution marks the beginning of the modern zoo concept. Collections established during the nineteenth century began calling themselves zoological gardens. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many new zoos and related facilities were founded for very different motives and purposes.
Zoo professionals proclaim demanding aims for their institutions, from educating the public to conservation of biodiversity. Many zoos define their aims as recreation, education, research, and conservation. Animal-rights groups claim that there is a wide gap between these claimed aims and actual practice, and that zoos have commercial and entertainment purposes in mind as well as financial profit.
Types of zoo include urban, open-range, safari, animal theme, roadside, rescue, sanctuary, petting, and specialized. The most traditional form of maintaining wild animals in captivity is keeping them in cages constructed of concrete or metal, in aviaries, or fenced paddocks. Most zoological gardens incorporated within international umbrella organizations are led by professionals such as zoologists or veterinarians.
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The terms zoo and zoological garden, that refer to zoology (from Greek: zωο, zoion, "animal"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge"), did not come into use until the modern zoo concept developed during the nineteenth century. The Zoological Society of London first used this term to describe its collection at Regent's Park, although this collection was simultaneously referred to as a menagerie. Most zoo founders of the nineteenth century operated with the term zoological garden to distinguish their institutions from the aristocratic and travelling menageries. The abbreviation zoo first appeared in print in Britain about 1847, when it was used for the Clifton Zoo, but it was not until some twenty years later that the shortened form became popular by a song called "Walking in the Zoo on Sunday".2
Relatively new terms for zoos, which were coined in the late twentieth century, are conservation park or biopark. Adopting a new name is a strategy by some zoo professionals to distance their institutions from the stereotypical and nowadays criticized zoo concept of the nineteenth century.3 The term "biopark" was first coined and developed by the National Zoo, Washington, D.C. calling itself "Creating the Nation's first Biopark" in the late 1980s. 4 In 1993, the New York Zoological Society changed its name to the Wildlife Conservation Society and rebranched the zoos under its jurisdiction as "wildlife conservation parks". 5
Collections of wild animals existed already in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China.
The most abundant evidence of the earliest zoos from Egypt derives from burial sites of about 2500 BC to 1400 BC. Throughout the entire period, written records -- on tablets, papyri, and tomb walls -- describe how pharaohs and sometimes other power brokers made zoos for pleasure and prestige and to satisfy scientific curiosity. Rulers gathered many of their animals from distant lands, frequently setting forth on expeditions for that purpose or receiving their quarry as gifts from fellow leaders or conquered peoples. They kept hyenas, monkeys, various antelopes, and mongooses. Proud of their collections, they took pains to ensure that their acquisitions would thrive and reproduce. Indeed, they often employed handlers to care for finicky creatures. 6 The ancient Egyptians began keeping wild animals in form of acclimatization which sometimes has approached domestication. On tomb pictures dating from 2500 BC, at Saqqara, some ungulates including antelopes, gazelles and ibex are depicted wearing collars and holding in leash.7 Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut established a zoo in Thebes around 1490 BC. Hatshepsut's zoo contained exotic animals collected from what is today Somalia, and it included tall cattle, exotic birds, cheetahs, leopards, monkeys and a giraffe.8 During the Hellenistic period, Ptolemy I of Egypt (323-285 BC), who had a particular interest in natural history, founded a great zoo in Alexandria. 9 His son Ptolemy II developed the Alexandria zoo into the greatest collection of animals the world had yet known. The animals were put on parade at the great ceremonies. In 285 BC, a typical procession for the feast of Dionysus included 96 elephants, 24 lions, 14 leopards, 16 cheetahs, 14 camels, a giraffe, a rhinoceros, hundreds of domestic animals as well as numerous birds. 7
In Mesopotamia, the kings of Sumeria, Babylonia, and Assyria were proud of their animal collections, which were symbol of power, wealth, and authority. The kings were especially proud of rare specimens their subjects and foreign dignitaries sent after diligent searches and difficult transport. Animals came from Asia via trade with the Indus society and from Africa via trade with the Egyptians. 10 The earliest zoo with large carnivores as lions was probably in Sumer and was King Shulgi's (2094-2047 BC) of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur. 11 Babylonian and Assyrian royal parks and gardens were often a place to keep animals. Tiglath-Pileser I, King of Assyria (1114-1076 BC), kept herds of deer, gazelles, and ibex from conquered territories in his park. Ashurnasirpal II, King of Assyria (883-859 BC), had herds of wild bulls, lions, ostriches and apes. Sargon II, King of Assyria (721-705 BC), was particularly fond of lions and falcons. 12 The richest evidence of the earliest zoos from Mesopotamia comes from Assyrian palace reliefs of about 880 BC to 627 BC. 6 Bas-reliefs from Assyrian royal palaces show monkeys, antelopes, camels, elephants, and other species brought to the Assyrian kings as tribute. 10 7th century BC stone reliefs from Nineveh (now in the British Museum) depict the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal hunting lions, which seem to have been first caught and held in cages before being released and hunted to death. 13 A relief on one of the palace walls particularly shows a scene of Lion Hunt where a captive lion is released from its transport crate into the animal park of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria (668-627 BC) at Nineveh, Mesopotamia. Another well-known collector of lions was King Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylonia (605-562 BC). 7
In ancient China, wild animals, especially exotic species, held the interest of rulers and the wealthy class. Starting with the founder of the Shang dynasty (ca. 1500 BC), China's rulers built animal reserves. 14 The Chinese empress Tanki, who ruled around 1150 BC, built a marble "house of deer". 15 However, it was Wen Wang, founder of the Zhou dynasty (ca. 1000-200 BC), who built the first well-known animal reserve, which he called Lingyou, commonly referred to as the "Garden of Intelligence". A more accurate translation would be "Garden for the Encouragement of Knowledge". This reserve and similar parks owned by the wealthy class of the Zhou period were large, walled-in natural areas that required their own staffs of administrators, keepers, and veterinarians, and housing a different animals like deer, fish, and "white birds with dazzling plumes". The rulers of the Qin (221-206 BC), Han (206 BC-AD 220), Tang (618-907), and Song (960-1279) dynasties continued the fashion of large royal parks, where birds and mammals were kept in cages for personal pleasure and the demonstration of wealth and power.14 In the thirteenth century, Marco Polo described the royal menagerie of Kublai Khan (1215-1294), founder of the Yuan Dynasty, in Shang-tu, which maintained leopards, tigers, lynxes and elephants, as well eagles and falcons used for hunting. 9 In 1417, Yung-lo, a Chinese Ming Dynasty emperor, organised an expedition to Africa to collect a giraffe; apparently the emperor had a menagerie that included a zebra and other African animals. 9 The fifteenth century Chinese explorer Cheng Ho returned in 1422 from Africa with at least one giraffe and one zebra. 15
Also in the ancient Greek and Roman world live animal collections existed. In the fourth century BC, Greek animal collections enabled Aristotle to write the first systematic zoological survey, The History of Animals, which describes about three hundred vertebrates known at this time. His student, Alexander the Great, sent information and specimens back to Greece from his eastern campaign. Alexander's travels east into Persia opened up a new source of animals for Grecian menageries. 16 Historians have written many publications about extravagant and bloodthirsty spectacles in Rome, involving wild animals. The 19th-century historian W.E.H. Lecky wrote of the Roman games, first held in 366 BC: "At one time, a bear and a bull, chained together, rolled in fierce contest along the sand ... Four hundred bears were killed in a single day under Caligula ... Under Nero, four hundred tigers fought with bulls and elephants. In a single day, at the dedication of the Colosseum by Titus, five thousand animals perished. Under Trajan ... lions, tigers, leopards, bears, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, giraffes, bulls, stags, even crocodiles and serpents were employed to give novelty to the spectacle ..." 17 However, little has been written about the facilities of keeping those animals.18 By the second century BC, wealthy and influential Romans were keeping aviaries, fish ponds and menageries to show their power and prestige. 9 The Latin word vivarium referred to the stockyards and arenas where wild animals were held for public spectacles.19 In Rome there were extensive animal holding areas, called vivaria, associated with the arenas that citizens might view. These were menageries of a sort. Each Roman emperor had a menagerie for triumphal processions and official celebrations, especially gladiatorial exhibitions in which animals were killed. At the dawn of the Christian era the Emperor Augustus (29 BC-AD 14) is recorded to have had over 3,500 wild and tamed animals from his menagerie killed in 26 celebrations, including 420 tigers, 260 lions, 36 crocodiles, and a number of elephants and rhinoceroses. 9
In medieval Europe some monarchs, monasteries, and municipalities continued to maintain collections of wild animals. One of these collections was the Tower Menagerie in London.20
In the New World, one of the earliest and most impressive collections of animals was that of the Aztec emperor Montezuma II in Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). It contained several buildings and flight cages and numerous gardens, lakes, streams, and ponds for its birds, mammals and reptiles. Hundred of gardeners and animals keepers tended the collections and the grounds. Unfortunately, these animal collections were destroyed during the Spanish conquest (1519-1521) by Hernando Cortés. 21
At the middle of the 16th century, Hessen was ruled by Landgraf Wilhelm IV. In 1571 this prince established a zoological garden at the Sababurg, the hunting castle in the heart of the Reinhards Forest not far from Kassel. The prime purpose of the wild animal park was at first to furnish the kitchens with meat. Since 1971, the heritage is Tierpark Sababurg. 22
Menageries owned by monarchs and wealthy aristocrats can be seen as the predecessor institution of the modern zoological garden. One of these aristocratic menageries was the Versailles menagerie during the reign of Louis XIV. The oldest existing zoo, the Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna, evolved from such an aristocratic menagerie, founded by the Habsburg monarchy in 1752.23
The transition from menagerie, a predominantly private collection, to public institution marks the beginning of the modern zoo concept. Collections established during the nineteenth century began calling themselves zoological gardens. In some cases this was simply fashionable since zoos were considered professionally managed facilities, whether they were or not. In other cases there was an emphasis on education and science rather than on entertainment. 24
The first modern zoo, established particularly for scientific and educational purposes according to its founders, was the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes as part of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris (1793). It was, significantly, laid out like a picturesque park -- a semblance of Nature emphasized by Rousseau -- while the buildings themselves housed caged animals as if in museum display cabinets. 25 About thirty years later, the Zoological Society of London was founded in 1826 by Stamford Raffles. The Zoological Society of London stated in its charter that its aim was "the advancement of zoology and animal physiology and the introduction of new and curious subjects of the animal kingdom". The members of the Zoological Society of London adopted the idea of the early Paris zoo when they established London Zoo as a scientific zoo in 1827.26 It opened in 1828 in Regent's Park, admitting members and their guests. Only in 1847 were working people allowed in, for a shilling. London Zoo admitted paying visitors to aid funding of its scientific work. The taxonomic presentation of animals at the London Zoo became the model for the nineteenth century. The success of London Zoo set off a Victorian wave of similar establishments. 27
The Berlin Zoo, which is often said to have the most extensive range of species worldwide, was constructed in 1841 on the site of the former royal pheasant run in the Tiergarten at Charlottenburg. Friedrich Wilhelm IV not only donated in 1841 the site of his pheasantry to the newly-founded shareholders' association Zoo Aktiengesellschaft, but in 1844 also donated 850 animals from the royal menagerie, which moved from Peacock Island (“Pfaueninsel”) to Tiergarten. The Berlin Zoo, the first in Germany, was opened on 1st August 1844. 28
The world’s first acclimatization society was the Société Zoologique d’Acclimatation, founded in Paris in 1854. 29 The founding president was Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, professor of zoology at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle and director of the Ménagerie (created in 1793). In 1860 Isidore and his son, Albert Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, opened Jardin Zoologique d’Acclimatation, located in the Bois de Boulogne, west of Paris. 30
The history of modern zoos in India began around the middle of the nineteenth century. The first zoo was probably Marble Palace Zoo, started in 1854 by Raja Mullick Bahadur in the private mansion in the center of Calcutta. There were many mammals and birds in this collection. 31 In 1855, a zoo was set by the Municipality of Madras in a 20-acre (80,000 m2) area near the Railway station. It was closed down in 1980 and shifted to a new 1,260-acre (5.1 km2) site, known as the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur. This is a modern zoo of India. 31
The Zoological Society of Victoria was established in 1857 and was the first to develop a major zoo in Australia. Its priorities had shifted from collecting and displaying exotic animals to importing large numbers of unusual domestic animals. To reflect this emphasis, the society renames itself the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria in 1861 and concentrated its efforts on acquiring useful animals. The animals in question fell into three broad categories: economic, game and ornamental. The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens opened on the Royal Park site in 1862. 32
In the United States, physician William Camac initiated the incorporation of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia in 1859. According to the society's charter, "The object of this Corporation shall be the purchase and collection of living wild and other animals, for the purpose of public exhibition at some suitable place in the City of Philadelphia, for the instruction and recreation of the people."33 The American Civil War interrupted these efforts so that the opening of the Philadelphia Zoo delayed until 1874. Some years ago, the Central Park menagerie evolved from gifts of exotic pets and other animals informally given to the Park, beginning, apparently, with a bear and some swans deposited near New York's arsenal on the edge of Central Park in 1859.34 About 1861/62, a smaller zoo with lower standards had been already established in New York City, the Central Park Zoo.35 In 1864 it received charter confirmation from New York's assembly.34 Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois, was founded in 1868, when the Lincoln Park commissioners were given a gift of a pair of swans. 36 Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island was established in 1872 with a small collection of mostly native animals. 37 The Zoological Society of Cincinnati was established in 1873. A site was acquired the following year, and the Cincinnati Zoo opened on September 18, 1875. 38 Other zoos in the United States began as menageries, when animals were donated to a park system and city fathers had to find a place to house them. The zoos in Buffalo, New York (1875); Binghamton, New York (1875); and Cleveland, Ohio (1882) are examples of this type of "startup". 39 When the first American zoological gardens came into existence, only a few supporters of the early animal welfare movement spoke out against zoos. Humanitarians protested cruelty in training animals for circuses more often than they opposed zoos. Their concerns were that zoo animals were healthy and well cared for, and not subjected to cruelty or pain.40
In March 1889 an Act of Congress authorized the formation of a National Zoological Park Commission to select an purchase land for a zoological park in the District of Columbia "for the advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the people". In April 1890 Congress passed another act, placing the National Zoological Park under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents. First animals arrived in 1891 at Washington Zoo. 41
The New York Zoological Society (now the Wildlife Conservation Society) was incorporated in 1895. Objectives of the society were "to establish and maintain in New York a zoological garden for the purpose of encouraging and advancing the study of zoology, original researches in the same and kindred subjects, and of furnishing instruction and recreation to the people". The New York Zoological Park (the Bronx Zoo, now the Wildlife Conservation Park) opened in 1899. 42
Ueno Zoo opened its gate in 1882 in heavily wooded Ueno Park, Tokyo, as part of the national museum, and was the first modern zoo in Japan. Kyoto Zoo was the second modern zoo in the country, opening in Okazaki Park, Kyoto, in 1903 to commemorate the wedding of the crown prince, who later became emperor. The birth of the third zoo followed in 1915 in Osaka, a municipal facility known as Tennoji Zoo. The imperial facility gave the Ueno Zoo to the City of Tokyo in 1924 to commemorate the wedding of another crown prince. 43
Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many new zoos and related facilities were founded for very different motives and purposes. Cultural and philosophical attitudes as well as political developments such as imperialism had an impact on the appearance and aims of zoological gardens. Human beings were sometimes displayed in zoos along with non-human animals, supposedly to illustrate the differences between people of European and non-European origin (“Human zoos”).44 According to historians Eric Baratay and Elisabeth Hardouin-Fugier the zoos of that period reflected the determination of imperialist nations to classify and dominate.45
In 1931, a small zoo was built by the Hagenbeck's firm for the Colonial Exposition organized by Lyautey in Paris. 46 The popular success of this temporary zoo inspired the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle to create a new zoological garden inaugurated in 1934 in the Bois de Vincennes, east of Paris. 47
The most important zoo in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), the Tierpark Berlin-Friedrichsfelde, opened in 1955. Because of its connections and animal dealings with Eastern European zoos, it contains some of the rarest species. Its former connection with the Academy of Science of the GDR supported research at Tierpark Berlin-Friedrichsfelde. It became one of the leading zoos of the world with many rare breeding groups of birds and mammals. 48
In the 1950s, Bernhard Grzimek used the zoo and the zoological society of Frankfurt to popularize the idea of nature conservation. 49 When ecology emerged as a matter of public interest through the 1970s, a few zoos began to consider making conservation their central role, with Gerald Durrell of Jersey Zoo, George Rabb of Brookfield Zoo, and William Conway of Bronx Zoo leading the discussion. 50 Since then, zoo professionals became increasingly aware of the need to engage themselves in conservation.51 As a modern ark, the concept of frozen zoo had been added to both captive breeding (“ex-situ conservation”) and conservation in the wild (“in-situ conservation”). Especially in America, the new zoo concept had been developed. 52 The changes at zoos have served both the ideology of environmentalism and the day-to-day needs of zoos to maintain their collections. Many of contemporary zoos led by professionals show fewer species and display social animals in groups; landscape immersion exhibits replicate animal habitats.53 The zoological garden of the nineteenth century eventually evolved into the biopark, or conservation park, of the late twentieth century. The conservation park concept is quickly being superseded with an even newer one, the environmental center of the twenty-first century. 19 In effect, it is announced that the role of zoos will be changing in the 21st century. Instead of the living museums that they were in the 20th century, more and more zoos will become environmental resource centres in which ecosystems and survival of species are supported. It is also proposed that, as possible agents for conservation, visitors to zoos should play an active role in this process. 54
Zoo professionals proclaim exalting and demanding aims for their institutions, from educating the public to conservation of biodiversity. 55 Many zoos define their aims as recreation, education, research, and conservation. Animal-rights groups claim that there is a wide gap between the claimed aims and actual practice, and that owners of zoos have commercial and entertainment purposes in mind to increase their financial profit. Some zoos work to save endangered species, but most animals in zoos are bred in captivity for the purpose of public display, not species protection. In his 1985 critique of zoos, philosopher Dale Jamieson asserted that zoos generally do not live up to their own goals, that zoo animals are deprived of freedom for little social or scientific good, and that zoos cause suffering without producing compensatory benefits for animals or people.56 Jamieson argues that a moral presumption against keeping animals in captivity outweighs any benefit that might accrue from education, science, or species preservation.57 The animal rights philosophy refuses zoos as a matter of principle. Keeping wild animals in captivity is seen as human domination over other creatures.58
French historians Baratay and Hardouin-Fugier see zoos as an allegory for the contradictions of modern Western societies: "The zoo made concrete, in an enclosed space, what society wanted to do in nature, as, with the advance of urbanization, people felt an increasing need to preserve the wild. But the desire remained unrealized, because Western society did not want its methods called into question, and because, in the final analysis, it preferred to transplant, delimit, cultivate and arrange nature however and wherever it liked, rather than leave places truly free of human influence."45
Recreation, which is close to entertainment and pleasure, does not benefit the welfare of the zoo animals, but that of the zoo visitors. Jamieson points out that "we should have the honesty to recognize that zoos are for us rather than for the animals".59 According to Swiss zoologist Heini Hediger recreation is one of the most important aims of the modern zoo in the face of proceeding urbanization and alienation from nature. People, especially from urbanized areas, should be given the opportunity to relax and to enjoy a naturalistic environment in their very neighbourhood.60
Since the beginning of the modern zoological gardens education and therefore the propagation of biological knowledge has been one of the most prominent aims claimed by zoo professionals. Already in 1829, London Zoo published its first guide to the zoo.61 Today’s educational efforts of zoos concentrate mostly on ecological and conservation issues. The idea of conservation education at zoos has a longer history than it is often acknowledged. This idea was foremost among the goals of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum as it was planned in the early 1950s. Animal exhibits were one component of the museum, which was begun with the goal of educating the public about the plant life and scenic value of the desert. Although the museum's focus was regional, and it was not a traditional zoo, directors of many American zoos looked to it as a model.62 Many zoos now have an education department, a classroom, and full time educational officers. Edinburgh Zoo has pioneered a scheme called "interlink" which combines the resources of the zoo, local museums, and the botanical gardens to create educational courses. Like several other zoos it offers teachers a range of courses from day trips with infants to intensive courses for advanced students. In 1991, over 50,000 students were involved with structured courses at Edinburgh Zoo.63 However, critics say that there is no educational value in exhibiting wild animals in artificial environments. According to them true respect for wildlife could only be stimulated by learning about animals in their natural habitat.64
Classical zoological gardens played a role in research in comparative anatomy and physiology in the nineteenth century.65 Important scientists, such as Cuvier, Alfred Brehm and Paul Matschie, used zoos for their studies. 49
As early as 1859 the Frankfurt Zoo published the journal Der Zoologische Garten (The Zoological Garden) as a public forum for scientific research and experience at zoos. 66
Oskar Heinroth, the director of the aquarium at the Berlin Zoological Gardens during the early decades of the twentieth century, coined the word ethology and was the first to articulate its general mission: a scientific study of animal behavior that would operate through comparative methods, like the already well-established of comparative anatomy. 67
Beginning in 1934, the brothers Lutz and Heinz Heck, two German directors of the Berlin and Munich Zoos respectively, did indeed experiment in "back-breeding" two species of extinct European ungulate: the aurochs (Bos primigenius) and the tarpan (Equus gmelini). 68
Heini Hediger developed zoo biology as a special branch of biology. Zoo biology translates the ideas and perceptions of others sciences into the practice of zoological garden management and gives stimulus to the use of zoo research in other sciences. 49
Contemporary research efforts focus on ethology and conservation breeding. According to William Conway zoo science would contribute basic biological information and technological know-how to the increasingly demanding tasks of wildlife care in constricted habitats.69
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Up to now, only a few species such as the Przewalski’s Horse70, the American Bison, or the California Condor71 could be saved from extinction and reintroduced to the wild. The American Bison, for example, was close to extinction at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1907, the Bronx Zoo led by William T. Hornaday was the first zoo to help the American Bison Society with its reintroduction project, sending 15 bison to the Wichita Forest Reserve in Oklahoma. Other reservation herds were established in succeeding years using additional zoo-bred animals. By 1933, there were 4,404 bison in the United States and 17,043 in Canada. 72 Although most species maintained in zoos are not endangered, and those that are will likely seldom be released into natural habitats, biologist Colin Tudge emphasizes the urgency of ex-situ conservation in zoos in the face of increasing threat to natural habitats.73
In 1993, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), formerly known as the International Union of the Directors of Zoological Gardens, produced its first conservation strategy.74 In November 2004, WAZA adopted a new strategy that sets out the aims and mission of zoological gardens of the twenty-first century.75 The captive breeding of endangered species is coordinated by cooperative breeding programs. Under the auspices of WAZA, 182 International Studbooks are kept. These studbooks are coordinated by the Zoological Society of London. About 810 animal species and subspecies are managed under cooperative breeding programmes at the level of the regional association members such as the Species Survival Plan (SSP), established 1981, or the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), established 1985.76
But critics point to the marginal contribution of zoos to the preservation of biodiversity. Andrew Linzey, director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, argues that zoos make a "minuscule contribution to conservation."77 Most conservation experts agree that few of the rare or endangered species can be saved from extinction by breeding them in captivity. In 1990, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) drew up an action plan for the survival of 1370 species. It considered that the reintroduction of captive bred animals could assist in the conservation of only 19 species (1.4 percent).78 The difficulties associated with ex-situ conservation are illustrated by the captive breeding program for the critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros. Between 1984 and 1996, 40 Sumatran Rhinos were transported from their native habitat to zoos and reserves across the world. After years of failed attempts and a dramatic decline of the captive population, one individual gave birth to a healthy male calf at Cincinnati Zoo in September 2001. This was the first successful captive birth of a Sumatran Rhino in 112 years. Two other calves followed in 2004 and 2007. Despite the recent successes in Cincinnati, the captive breeding program has remained controversial. Proponents argue that zoos have aided the conservation effort by studying the reproductive habits, raising public awareness and education about the rhinos, and helping raise financial resources for conservation efforts in Sumatra. Opponents of the captive breeding program argue that losses are too great; the program too expensive; removing rhinos from their habitat, even temporarily, alters their ecological role; and captive populations cannot match the rate of recovery seen in well-protected native habitats.79
Urban zoos are the classical zoological gardens that stand in the tradition of the nineteenth century zoo concept, even if some of them changed their names to Conservation Park or Biopark. Most of them are relatively small in size and based within cities or urbanized areas, a fact that often complicates the construction of more sizable enclosures. In Europe a famous urban zoo is the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, right next to the central station of the city. In the USA a good example is the Cincinnati Zoo.
Some zoos concentrate on animals of geographical regions (geozoo); other zoos have developed ecological exhibits based on ecosystems rather than geographical areas, or attempt to exhibit their animals in a different way of the opening by night (night safari). In 1994, the opening of the Night Safari, conceived by Sri Lankan Lyn de Alwis and developed by the team at the Singapore Zoological Gardens led by Bernard Harrison, created the simple but totally unique concept of simulating appropriate animal species in a national park, to be viewed only at night, with subtle theatrical lighting simulating moonlight. Some 1,000 animals can be seen in a tropical rainforest setting. 80
A number of open-range zoos have been established since the early 1930s in rural surroundings. The prototype is Whipsnade Park, England, established by the Zoological Society of London in 1931 (600 acres, 2.4 km²). Urban zoos started to develop out of city zoos -- commencing with Whipsnade for London, followed by such developments as Planckendael (1956) for the Antwerp Zoo and Tama (1958) for Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. Fewer species are exhibited in such zoos than in urban zoos, but they are mostly kept in more sizable enclosures. Conservation centers were established for the first time in the United States for the purpose of off-site captive reproduction and conservation at the San Diego Wild Animal Park (Escondido, California, 1972), St. Catherines Wildlife Conservation Center (Midway, Georgia, 1974), and Conservation and Research Center (Front Royal, Virginia, 1975). San Diego, New York and Washington Zoos respectively manage these centers, and all are off exhibits (not open to the public) except the San Diego Wild Animal Park. 81 After 30 years of animal research, Bronx Zoo closed St. Catherines Island preserve at the end of 2004. 82 In North America, the seventies witnessed a boom in so-called "utopian zoos", sprawling complexes of several hundred acres often linked by trams or monorails. From San Diego to Toronto (1974), Minneapolis (1978) to Miami (1981), these elaborate facilities provided animals with vast territories to roam and offered visitors yet another version of zoo naturalism. 83 The largest zoo in terms of size is the 1,800 acre (7 km²) San Diego Wild Animal Park in the Pasqual Valley, California, that is run by the Zoological Society of San Diego. The Werribee Open Range Zoo near Melbourne, Australia, concentrates on displaying animals living in a wide open savanna. This 500-acre (2.0 km2) zoo is managed by the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board which also manages Melbourne Zoo. One of only two American state supported zoos is the 535-acre (2.17 km2) North Carolina Zoo located in Asheboro, North Carolina.
A safari park is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles and observe the wildlife, rather than viewing animals in cages or small enclosures. Most safari parks were established in a short period of ten years, between 1966 and 1975.
An animal theme park is a combination of an amusement park and a zoo, mainly for entertaining and commercial purposes. Marine mammal parks such as Sea World and Marineland are more elaborate dolphinariums keeping whales, and containing additional entertainment attractions.
Another kind of animal theme park is Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida (550 acres, 2.2 km²) or Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, Florida (335 acres, 1.36 km²). These commercial parks are similar to open-range zoos according to size, but different in intention and appearance since they contain far more entertainment elements (stage shows, roller coasters, mythical creatures etc.).
There are hundreds of substandard wildlife attractions throughout the United States and Canada called roadside zoos. These mainly amateur facilities are usually privately owned and occasionally accredited by the American zoo organization AZA. The focus is on amusing customers, rather than on meeting the needs of the animals. Roadside zoos often lack trained, experienced animal care staff, proper funding and safety practices. Animals are confined to small, barren, often filthy cages, and suffer poor welfare as a result of inadequate housing, care and diet. Roadside zoos breed animals in order to have a constant supply of cute babies to attract the public. Big cat rescues, primate rescues, and native wildlife rescues are overwhelmed due to the constant influx of animals coming out of roadside zoos.84
Animal welfare supporters have funded the construction and set-up of sanctuaries for wild animals. The animal welfare organization WSPA established several of these facilities for rescued bears worldwide. According to the organization those in Greece and Turkey have helped stamp out the tradition of forcing bears to perform tricks for public entertainment.85 Another type of sanctuary takes the form of a rehabilitation and release center. An example of this is the Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Center, where orphaned bear cubs are cared for and prepared for release back into the wild.86 Another sanctuary, especially for apes and primates, is 65 acre (0.26 km²) Monkey World near Wool, Dorset, England. Set up in 1987 it was originally intended to provide a home for abused chimpanzees used by Spanish beach photographers, but is now home to many different species of primates.87
A petting zoo, also called children's farms or children's zoos, features a combination of domestic animals and wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. To ensure the animals' health, the food is supplied by the zoo, either from vending machines or a kiosk nearby.
Some zoos specialized on specific groups of animals such as bird parks (public aviaries), reptile zoos (reptile centre, serpentaria), public aquaria or butterfly zoos.
The most traditional form of maintaining wild animals in captivity is keeping them in pits (“bear pits”), in cages constructed of metal bars or concrete, in aviaries, or fenced paddocks, although many zoos replaced these by more elaborate and larger enclosures that attempt to replicate their natural habitats, for the benefit of the animals and the visitors. 88
The traditional structures in exotic styles in zoological gardens of European cities in the nineteenth century were thought appropriate as the home of wild creatures from foreign parts: the Egyptian temple in Antwerp Zoo (1856), the Moorish-looking elephant house at the Cologne Zoo (1863), the Indian pagoda for elephants in Berlin Zoo (1873), the Turkish elephant house at Basel (1891). 89
The first exotic design for a zoo building was the Egyptian temple at the Antwerp Zoo. 90 Antwerp's Egyptian temple was a faithful reproduction of an ancient temple on the Isle of Philae. 91 It was built for elephants, giraffes and zebras, in 1856. Its architect, Charles Servais, used the Egyptian style for all kinds of African animals. 90
Following the example of Zoo Antwerpen in Belgium, some of the Berlin Zoological Garden's houses were built in a picturesque, exotic style. 92 Accordingly, 1871 witnessed the opening of the magnificent Antelope House in the Moorish style. 93 This building was also the Giraffe House, which was elliptical in plan, was decorated with four minarets, each pierced with a large golden sphere. 94 The Antelope House was followed by the Indian style Elephant House (1873), the Japanese Wader House (1897), the picturesque Elephant Gate (1899), the Egyptian Ostrich House (1901), the Indian Bison House (1905), the Russian Wisent House (1905), the Siamese Buffalo House (1907), and the Arabian style houses for solipeds (1910). 93 The most remarkable example of the exotic style of zoo architecture was the Indian temple at Berlin Zoo or Elephantpagode. 66 The magnificent elephant house was built in the form of a Hindu temple, with domes painted yellow, brown and blue. Huge columns supporting the roof have carved elephants' heads for capitals, and in the centre of the house stood the skeleton of a full-grown elephant. 95 It was used for about 70 years until bombing during World War II destroyed it. 66 The house for wading birds (i.e. cranes and storks) was based on Japanese architecture and stood from 1897 until 1943 when it was destroyed by the war. 96 Also in the Japanese style, the entrance to the Berlin Zoo on Budapester Strasse is the reconstructed Elephant Gate of 1899 that was completely destroyed in the last war and resurrected in all its original detail in 1984. 93 The Egyptian temple for ostriches opened its doors in 1901. 96 The ostrich house, based on Egyptian architecture, was decorated both inside and out with copies of Egytian murals, and on the back wall of the public area two immense figures, painted in a sitting position, were bathed in a deep and glorious sunset. 94 It was destroyed during the war in 1943. 96 Two other houses, the Russian blockhouse for European bison and the Indian blockhouse for American bison are still extant. 66 Built in 1905 this Indo-Russian double blockhouse is home to the American bison on the one side and the Eurasian bison on the other. The American Bison House reminds visitors of a Canadian timber house. Its facade is ornamented with Native American paintings and totem poles of Pacific Northwest Indians are faithfully reproduced in front of the building. 93 The house for the European bison was built like a Russian wooden manor house. 97 The Berlin Zoo's Siamese Cattle House (1996) is the biggest Thai building in Europe. The new house, used for gaur and banteng, resembles an earlier (1907) one destroyed in World War II. 98 An animal house in the Arab style, Persian tower stable, since 1910 is predominantly accommodation for equine species animals. 93
German merchant Carl Hagenbeck developed a new form of animal exhibition at the beginning of the twentieth century. When he opened his private owned zoo at Stellingen near Hamburg, (Tierpark Hagenbeck) in 1907, Hagenbeck had broken with a strong tradition to exhibit animals in accordance with taxonomy. He created a new style of exhibition based on ecological and geographical habitats including different species. For example, the "Northern Panorama" exhibited seals and walruses in a pool in the foreground, with reindeer behind them, and polar bears behind the reindeer. In the "African Panorama", the foreground pond had ducks and flamingos; behind them were large plains with zebras, antelopes, and ostriches; behind them were lions and vultures at the foot of an artificial mountain, on which were ibex or barbary sheep. The different enclosures were divided with moats not visible to the public, and the successive enclosures were higher than the one in front. The exhibits were landscaped with plants and artificial rocks. The artist for the artificial rocks was Urs Eggenschwyler. This gave the public the impression they were seeing the animals together in one natural habitat. After initial skepticism, many zoological gardens throughout the world adopted Hagenbeck's ideas and replaced traditional enclosures.99 Edinburgh Zoo, for example, was one of these institutions inspired by Hagenbeck’s new design.100 Then there are the extraordinary artificial mountains of concrete, like the Mappin Terraces in London Zoo, designed in 1913-14 by Peter Chalmers Mitchell and John James Joass. Eventually, whole zoos, such as those in Rome (1911), Munich (1928), Detroit (1928), and Vincennes (1934), followed Hagenbeck plans. 47 Brookfield Zoo, opened in 1934, is known throughout the world for its extensive use of open-air, unbarred enclosures and natural barriers such as moats. In 1941 the African Plains exhibit, the first free-range, multispecies habitat, opened at the Bronx Zoo. 101 The innovative, open habitat is a 4-acre (16,000 m2) moated area featuring a savanna environment recreated for zebras, antelopes, and other grazing animals and birds, with lions kept apart on an island on the other side of a moat. Even if this kind of exhibiting animals to the public was revolutionary in the history and evolution of zoo design, the actual space provided to the animals remained relatively small and was, in fact, not different from that of the traditional enclosures. The new panoramas benefited the aesthetic sense of visitors and can be seen as mainly anthropocentric constructions.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, new approaches were also made to integrate modern style into zoo architecture. The Jugendstil buildings (1909-1912) at Budapest Zoo in Hungary were ornamented with carved animals. The Jugendstil pavilions of the Elephant House date of 1911 and were designed by Károly Kós. 89
During the 1930s, some attempts were made to introduce abstract design into the modern zoo architecture, like those famous abstract geometrical structures by Lubetkin in Regent's Park, Whipsnade and Dudley. 47
