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Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I am a proponent of enjoying domesticated animals as pets and leaving the wildlife in the wild. I am happy to be categorized as a wildlife conservationist. I believe firmly that wild animals should live a free life in the wild. I do not agree with the idea that wild animals can be made into family pets. This not only leads to an unhappy and unhealthy existence for the animal but also often leads to tragic results for the owner. News headlines and magazines frequently report stories of people who have been savagely attacked by their pet monkey or mountain lion. My mantra is, live and let live. Enjoy them in their natural habitat and leave them in their natural habitat.
Unfortunately it is not always possible to observe wild animals in the natural habitat, and this is where zoos come into the picture. In a short one-hour drive I can enjoy animals from the plains of Africa, the tropical forests of Borneo or Madagascar, the jungles of Asia or even the frigid Arctic. In one morning I can watch tigers lounging in the sun, penguins racing through the water, elephants trumpeting at each other, giraffes tonguing leaves from the trees and (my favorite) gibbons swinging from branches. I can do all of that and still be home in time for a barbecue.
The question may arise in your mind -- how can someone say they promote wild animals living in the wild and then say that they enjoy the zoo where wild animals are held captive? The contradiction is not lost on me. A long time ago, I could not reconcile those two things. Today, however, it is plain to see the value, for the wildlife's sake, of zoos.
Some of the things that zoos do for conservation are hard to measure; however, financially they often raise funds to support conservation efforts. Utah's own Hogle Zoo recently opened a new attraction called the Conservation Carousel which allows patrons the opportunity to sponsor different animals on the carousel through a donation. The funds raised will, in part, go toward conservation efforts.
Another large contribution that zoos routinely make is that of saving a dwindling species from extinction. Captive breeding programs have kept several species of animals from becoming extinct, and some zoos breed animals to reintroduce back into the wild to help strengthen struggling species. Currently there are more than 16,000 endangered species in the world, and many threatened species no longer exist in the wild. If you would like to see them, you must visit a zoo. While this is a sad state of affairs, at least the zoos have preserved the species long enough for us to enjoy them, and maybe we will be able to re-populate the wild with those species that have become extinct outside of the zoo.
Maybe the biggest thing that zoos can do for our wild animal friends is to educate the public about them. Education is a major tool in the battle to peacefully co-exist with nature. Wildlife habitat throughout the world is disappearing at an alarming rate, and along with the habitat go the animals. Education is a valuable means to stop this habitat destruction.
So this summer, go to the zoo. Enjoy our animal friends while you can and support the conservation efforts of the zoo. The human race is the steward of the earth and all of the other inhabitants. I hope we get this one right. |
