tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/zoos-1702/articles
Zoos – The Conversation
2024-03-28T12:47:33Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/224480
2024-03-28T12:47:33Z
2024-03-28T12:47:33Z
As climate change and pollution imperil coral reefs, scientists are deep-freezing corals to repopulate future oceans
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584286/original/file-20240326-20-w2d62d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C0%2C3964%2C2994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Healthy corals like these on Australia's Lady Elliot Reef could disappear by the 2030s if climate change is not curbed. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rebecca Spindler</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coral reefs are some of the <a href="https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/teachers/coral-reef/background.html">oldest, most diverse ecosystems</a> on Earth, and among the most valuable. They nurture <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/marine-life/coral-reef-ecosystems">25% of all ocean life</a>, <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_protect.html">protect coasts from storms</a> and add <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_economy.html">billions of dollars yearly</a> to the global economy through their influences on fisheries, new pharmaceuticals, tourism and recreation. </p>
<p>Today, the world’s coral reefs are degrading at <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_corals/coral09_humanthreats.html">unprecedented rates</a> due to pollution, overfishing and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.04.024">destructive forestry</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.139">mining practices</a> on land. Climate change driven by human activities is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/factsheets/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Regional_Fact_Sheet_Ocean.pdf">warming and acidifying the ocean</a>, producing a <a href="https://theconversation.com/corals-are-starting-to-bleach-as-global-ocean-temperatures-hit-record-highs-209770">reef crisis</a> that could cause most corals to go extinct <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002608">within a few generations</a>. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Mary-Hagedorn-2111114778">marine biologist</a> at the Smithsonian’s <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/conservation/about-scbi">National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute</a>. For 17 years, I have worked with colleagues to create a global science program called the <a href="https://global.si.edu/projects/reef-recovery-initiative">Reef Recovery Initiative</a> that aims to help save coral reefs by using the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/cryopreservation">science of cryopreservation</a>. </p>
<p>This novel approach involves storing and cooling coral sperm and larvae, or <a href="https://wi.mit.edu/news/immortality-germ-cells">germ cells</a>, at very low temperatures and holding them in <a href="https://naturalhistorymuseum.blog/2022/07/26/biodiversity-biobanks-an-invaluable-resource-for-the-future/">government biorepositories</a>.</p>
<p>These repositories are an important hedge against extinction for corals. Managed effectively, they can help offset threats to the Earth’s reefs on a global scale. These frozen assets can be used today, 10 years or even 100 years from now to help reseed the oceans and restore living reefs.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Bko2bhQgG0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Smithsonian scientists use cryopreserved coral sperm to increase the genetic diversity of elkhorn coral.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Safely frozen alive</h2>
<p>Cryopreservation is a process for freezing biological material while maintaining its viability. It involves introducing sugarlike substances, called cryoprotectants, into cells to help prevent lethal ice formation during the freezing phase. If done properly, the cells remain frozen and alive in liquid nitrogen, unchanged, for many years. </p>
<p>Many organisms survive through cold winters in nature by becoming naturally cryopreserved as temperatures in their habitats drop below freezing, Two examples that are common across North America are <a href="https://new.nsf.gov/news/how-do-microscopic-creatures-called-tardigrades">tardigrades – microscopic animals that live in mosses and lichens</a> – and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpb.2022.110747">wood frogs</a>. </p>
<p>Today, coral cryopreservation techniques rely largely on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033354">freezing sperm</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-34035-0">and larvae</a>. Since 2007, I have trained many colleagues in coral cryopreservation and worked with them to successfully preserve coral sperm. Today we have sperm from over 50 species of corals <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/center-for-species-survival/coral-species-cryopreserved-global-collaborators">preserved in biorepositories worldwide</a>. </p>
<p>We have used this cryopreserved sperm to produce new coral across the Caribbean via a selective breeding process called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2110559118">assisted gene flow</a>. The goal was to use cryopreserved sperm and interbreed corals that would not necessarily have encountered each other – a type of long-distance matchmaking. </p>
<p>Genetic diversity is maintained by combining as many different parents as possible to produce new sexually produced offspring. Since corals are cemented to the seabed, when population numbers in their area decline, new individuals can be introduced via cryopreservation. The hope is that these new genetic combinations might have an adaptation that will help coral survive changes in future warming oceans.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two coral heads, one bleached white, the other still its natural brown color." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584774/original/file-20240327-20-jmcyqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Corals in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii during 2014 and 2015 warming events in which over 80% of corals were affected. Some species and individuals, like the coral at left, were resistant to warming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Claire Lager, Smithsonian</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These assisted gene flow studies produced 600 new genetic-assorted individuals of the threatened elkhorn coral <em>Acropora palmata</em>. As of early 2024, there are only about 150 elkhorn individuals left in the wild in the Florida population. If given the chance, these selectively bred corals held in captivity could significantly increase the wild elkhorn gene pool. </p>
<p>Preserving sperm cells and larvae is an important hedge against the loss of biodiversity and species extinctions. But we can only collect this material during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO_2JJynlOA">fleeting spawning events</a> when corals release egg and sperm into the water. </p>
<p>These episodes occur over just a few days a year – a small time window that poses logistical challenges for researchers and conservationists, and limits the speed at which we can successfully cryo-bank coral species. </p>
<p>To complicate matters further, warming oceans and increasingly frequent marine heat waves can biologically stress corals. This can make their reproductive material too weak to withstand the rigors of being cryopreserved and thawed. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582584/original/file-20240318-24-kam7rc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An elkhorn coral produced through assisted gene flow, showing vigorous growth and development.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cody Engelsma</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Scaling up the rescue</h2>
<p>To collect coral material faster, we are developing a cryopreservation process for whole coral fragments, using a method called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40500-w">isochoric vitrification</a>. This technique is still developing. However, if fully successful, it will preserve whole coral fragments without causing ice to form in their tissues, thus producing viable fragments after they’ve thawed that thrive and can be placed back out on the reef. </p>
<p>To do this, we dehydrate the fragment by exposing it to a viscous cryoprotectant cocktail. Then we place it into a small aluminum cylinder and immerse the cylinder in liquid nitrogen, which has a temperature of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemical-engineering/liquid-nitrogen">minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 196 Celsius)</a>. </p>
<p>This process freezes the cylinder’s contents so fast that the cryoprotectant forms a clear glass instead of allowing ice crystals to develop. When we want to thaw the fragments, we place them into a warm water bath for a few minutes, then rehydrate them in seawater. </p>
<p>Using this method, we can collect and cryopreserve coral fragments year-round, since we don’t have to wait and watch for fleeting spawning events. This approach greatly accelerates our conservation efforts. </p>
<p>Protecting as many species as possible will require expanding and sharing our science to create robust cryopreserved-and-thawed coral material through multiple methods. My colleagues and I want the technology to be easy, fast and cheap so any professional can replicate our process and help us preserve corals across the globe. </p>
<p>We have created a video-based coral cryo-training program that includes directions for <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/center-for-species-survival/coral-cryopreservation-training-course">building simple, 3D-printed cryo-freezers</a>, and have collaborated with engineers to develop new methods that now allow coral larvae to be frozen by the hundreds on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202303317">simple, inexpensive metal meshes</a>. These new tools will make it possible for labs around the world to significantly accelerate coral collection around the globe within the next five years.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_5DooxgwEiw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Without coral reefs, the world would lose a valuable source of food, coastal protection, medicines and income – and some of the world’s most unique and beautiful ecosystems.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Safeguarding the future</h2>
<p>Recent climate models estimate that if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, 95% or more of the world’s corals <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000004">could die by the mid-2030s</a>. This leaves precious little time to conserve the biodiversity and genetic diversity of reefs.</p>
<p>One approach, which is already under way, is bringing all coral species into human care. The Smithsonian is part of the <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/center-for-species-survival/coral-biobank-alliance">Coral Biobank Alliance</a>, an international collaboration to conserve corals by collecting live colonies, skeletons and genetic samples and using the best scientific practices to help rebuild reefs. </p>
<p>To date, over 200 coral species, out of some 1,000 known hard coral species, and thousands of colonies are under human care in institutions around the world, including organizations connected with the U.S. and European arms of the <a href="https://www.aza.org/">Association of Zoos and Aquariums</a>. Although these are clones of colonies from the wild, these individuals could be put into coral breeding systems that could be used for later cryopreservation of their genetically-assorted larvae. Alternatively, their larvae could be used for reef restoration projects. </p>
<p>Until climate change is slowed and reversed, reefs will continue to degrade. Ensuring a better future for coral reefs will require building up coral biorepositories, establishing on-land nurseries to hold coral colonies and develop new larval settlers, and training new cryo-professionals. </p>
<p>For decades, zoos have used <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/17/world/captive-breeding-species-cte-scn-spc-intl/index.html">captive breeding and reintroduction</a> to protect animals species that have fallen to critically low levels. Similarly, I believe our novel solutions can create hope and help save coral reefs to reseed our oceans today and long into the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224480/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Hagedorn receives funding from Revive & Restore; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Volgenau Foundation; CORDAP Foundation; Zegar Family Foundation; Oceankind; Mastriani Family; De Witt Family; Anela Kolohe Foundation; Cedar Hill Foundation; Sidney E. Frank Foundation; Scintilla Foundation; and the Smithsonian Women’s Committee.
She is affiliated with Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. </span></em></p>
Just as the world’s zoos breed critically endangered animals in captivity to repopulate the wild, scientists are building a global effort to freeze corals for reef restoration.
Mary Hagedorn, Research Scientist, Smithsonian Institution
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/224393
2024-03-20T14:19:34Z
2024-03-20T14:19:34Z
Chimpanzees stayed in an ‘invisible cage’ after zoo enclosure was enlarged – South African study
<p>Captive chimpanzees are one of the most popular species kept in zoos because of their <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/3/424">charismatic appeal and similarity to humans</a>. They are the closest living relatives of humans because of the shared genes and behavioural and psychological <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(04)00328-8">similarities</a>.</p>
<p>Zoos are ethically bound to care for the animals <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315688718-52/defense-zoos-aquariums-ethical-basis-keeping-wild-animals-captivity-michael-hutchins-brandie-smith-ruth-allard">they house</a>. Many provide environments that care for animals’ welfare needs. However, the impact of zoo environment on the behaviour, psychology and welfare of animals is sometimes overlooked or poorly understood.</p>
<p>Historically, zoos have been criticised and labelled as “animal prisons”. But based on my experience and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/089279314X14072268687808">research</a>, it’s clear that modern zoos play an important multifaceted role as centres of education, recreation, conservation and research.</p>
<p>Chimpanzees have been the focus of much zoo-based research, including research on their welfare. Most people – researchers, zoo workers and the public alike – assume that providing animals with larger, more “naturalistic” spaces to live in improves their welfare and existing evidence suggests that this is usually the case.</p>
<p>Few studies have focused on the long-term effects of these enclosures, however. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/17/2207">recent paper</a> I co-authored with colleagues fills this gap. We observed a stable group of eight chimpanzees at Johannesburg Zoo in South Africa five years after their outdoor housing was given a revamp to a more naturalistic design. The chimpanzees benefited from the new enclosure. But they appeared to use the space in an unusual way. </p>
<p>We found that the chimpanzees preferred to spend time in the space that was their original enclosure and that they formed groups that were remarkably tightly spaced. </p>
<p>We suggest that the chimpanzees’ perception of space had been altered by their experience of the previous, smaller, barren housing and that this limited their space use in the naturalistic enclosure through what appears to be a self-imposed “invisible cage”. </p>
<p>The role that the “invisible cage” might play in other settings is unclear. However, we believe our findings have implications for animal welfare, husbandry and broader conservation of endangered species. </p>
<p>Our paper shows that zoo-based research can teach us about the needs of animals in our care, and how their environment and experiences shape their biology and behaviour. It can even give us a glimpse into their minds and perceptions. </p>
<h2>Enclosures</h2>
<p>The Johannesburg Zoo turns 120 years old in 2024. Located in Saxonwold in Johannesburg, the zoo covers an area of 55 hectares and is the <a href="https://www.jhbcityparksandzoo.com/services-facilities/zoo/about">second-largest zoo in South Africa</a>. It hosts 320 species of animals and is a member of the <a href="https://www.waza.org/">World Association of Zoos and Aquariums</a>. </p>
<p>In 2004, the chimpanzee outdoor enclosure at the Johannesburg Zoo which was built in the 1970s was extensively upgraded. The chimpanzee space was increased from a pair of concrete and wood enclosures, each measuring 10 metres by 10 metres, to a large, naturalistic enclosure encompassing about 2,500 square metres of grass, shrubs, trees, rocks and streams, occupying the same site as the previous housing. Most of the chimpanzees had lived their entire lives in the old enclosures while two had only lived there for a few years.</p>
<p>Upgrades to naturalistic designs have become <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.20404">the standard for zoos</a>. They are often followed by evaluations to determine how the new space affects the welfare of the animals. Such evaluations typically find that welfare is improved with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.20404">naturalistic enclosures</a>. This was true at the Johannesburg Zoo too. Chimpanzees exhibited persistent beneficial changes in behaviour, such as decreased abnormal or repetitive behaviour, suggesting improved welfare in their <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159113001585">naturalistic enclosure</a>.</p>
<p>Our study started <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/17/2207">in 2009</a>, five years after the overhaul of the enclosure. In this study, the chimpanzees appeared to use all of the enclosure to some degree but showed a preference for the area where the previous enclosure had been. </p>
<p>Curiously, the chimpanzees also appeared to exhibit a strong tendency to form tightly spaced groups which matched the exact dimensions of the previous housing. These groups formed regardless of when or where in the enclosure the chimpanzees were, the environmental conditions at the time or which individual chimpanzees were involved. </p>
<p>This unusual pattern had not previously been reported and appeared contrary to what might be expected for a group of animals which had lived in such a large space for five years. This space-use behaviour appeared to reflect a perceived, self-imposed, intangible barrier to the spacing of the chimpanzees, as if an invisible cage surrounded the groups.</p>
<h2>Animal welfare and the use of space</h2>
<p>Space use is difficult to interpret in terms of animal welfare because it is often context-dependent and so is usually ignored when doing evaluations after an enclosure overhaul. When an animal chooses to use a small amount of space it may be because the space is attractive and meets their welfare needs. However, an animal may choose to remain in a small area because the larger space is perceived as unpleasant or even dangerous. </p>
<p>For the chimpanzees, nothing suggested that the spacing pattern indicated distress or compromised welfare. Other aspects of the chimpanzees’ behaviour suggested improved welfare in the naturalistic enclosure. Instead, it appeared that the invisible cage reflected a persistent psychological barrier, learned in the previous housing and then imposed in the naturalistic enclosure years later.</p>
<p>These findings mirror a psychological effect termed <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/xge/105/1/3/&hl=en&sa=T&oi=gsb&ct=res&cd=1&d=6387435864426922977&ei=vuvuZb3nKcfTy9YPt6iP6AU&scisig=AFWwaeZ9sUMBtIlV5VGbEbKfQw3U">“learned helplessness”</a> seen in many species, including <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318280261_Learned_Helplessness">humans</a>. In situations where individuals are helpless or lack control, they learn that their actions <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/xge/105/1/3/&hl=en&sa=T&oi=gsb&ct=res&cd=1&d=6387435864426922977&ei=vuvuZb3nKcfTy9YPt6iP6AU&scisig=AFWwaeZ9sUMBtIlV5VGbEbKfQw3U">cannot affect the outcome</a>. This perception is carried into later situations where they can affect the outcome, acting as though still helpless.</p>
<p>Further research is needed to understand the welfare implications and broader application of these findings. However, they highlight some important issues around the role of zoos and how zoos affect species conservation.</p>
<h2>The importance of zoos</h2>
<p>Zoos help raise awareness around conservation issues. They also provide a haven for species under threat. Many facilities breed and reintroduce these species into nature. The <a href="https://www.jhbcityparksandzoo.com/services-facilities/zoo/about">Johannesburg Zoo</a> particularly has several <a href="https://www.jhbcityparksandzoo.com/services-facilities/zoo/conservation">conservation programmes</a>, including a breeding programme for the endangered Pickersgill’s reed frog.</p>
<p>As sanctuaries sustaining threatened populations, zoos actively conserve biodiversity on many ways (creating gene banks, breeding animals and conserving biological and behavioural diversity) while providing critical access to rare species for observation and research.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Mangaliso Duncan received funding from the Jane Goodall Institute and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. </span></em></p>
Zoo-based research can teach us about the needs of animals in our care.
Luke Mangaliso Duncan, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Warwick
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/206280
2023-06-25T13:35:02Z
2023-06-25T13:35:02Z
Zoos and universities must work together to safeguard wildlife and improve conservation
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532140/original/file-20230615-29-koig6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C19%2C2363%2C1545&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A conservation researcher counts ringtailed lemurs for a zoo's annual stock take. Zoos have the capacity to do more for conservation science and practice.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Jon Super).</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The word “zoo” is complicated and can have different meanings to different people. For some, a zoo is an organization committed to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/18/zoos-play-a-vital-role-in-animal-conservation-across-the-world">animal well-being and wildlife conservation</a> that offers its visitors a fun and educational experience. To others, it is a place where people pay to see <a href="https://worldanimalfoundation.org/advocate/how-to-help-animals/params/post/1280916/whats-wrong-with-zoos">exotic animals in poor conditions</a>. </p>
<p>Zoos — a shortening of zoological gardens — can refer to both zoos and aquariums. Zoos accredited by bodies such as <a href="https://www.aza.org/">the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)</a> and <a href="https://www.eaza.net/">the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria</a> make <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-27806-2">important contributions</a> to conservation and the recovery of endangered species.</p>
<p>With more than 700 million visitors receiving conservation education globally and more than US$350 million spent on wildlife conservation, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.20369">zoos are the third largest contributors to conservation initiatives after The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund</a>. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, many zoos have the capacity to do more for conservation science and practice. We see this potential in the groundbreaking work of zoos with global reach including <a href="https://www.chesterzoo.org/what-we-do/">Chester Zoo</a>, <a href="https://www.zoo.org.au/fighting-extinction/">Zoos Victoria</a> and the <a href="https://sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/">San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance</a>. </p>
<h2>The modern zoo</h2>
<p>Zoos continue to renegotiate their social contract with the public as societal values change. Today, the modern zoo must focus not only on the well-being of its animals, but also emphasize its impact on conservation. </p>
<p>In Canada, the Calgary Zoo has established the <a href="https://wilderinstitute.org/">Wilder Institute</a> with a vision to become “Canada’s leader in wildlife conservation.” The <a href="https://www.torontozoo.com/">Toronto Zoo</a> has a mission of “Connecting people, animals and conservation science to fight extinction.” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1518276602118950913"}"></div></p>
<p>These, and other <a href="https://espacepourlavie.ca/projets-de-conservation-du-biodome">examples, highlight the continued shift toward investing in conservation science</a> by zoos in Canada, with an increased focus on collaborative research.</p>
<h2>How do zoos produce research in conservation science?</h2>
<p>While many zoos have dedicated staff for conservation projects, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.20215">collaboration with universities</a> can help zoos increase their contribution to conservation science. </p>
<p>Historically, in Canada and other countries, most published research from zoos is related to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2019-0052">veterinary sciences</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2017-0083">not conservation</a>. Academic institutions can provide scientific and technical expertise in conservation science, as well as access to envelopes of funding that are not available to zoos alone. </p>
<p>University researchers have rigorous science communication requirements that include not only publication in <a href="https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/BES-Peer-Review-Guide-2017_web.pdf">peer-reviewed journals</a>, but conference presentations, lectures and more. When zoos collaborate with universities, they have greater access to funding for conservation research and produce accessible research for conservation practitioners, researchers and the public alike. </p>
<p>At universities, graduate students as well as post-doctoral researchers perform the majority of research, supervised by a professor in a mentor-mentee relationship. Collaborating with graduate students and their mentors can help zoos address any ongoing conservation challenges. </p>
<h2>ReNewZoo as a model</h2>
<p>In 2016, our team of ten academics and zoo practitioners received funding from the <a href="https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/index_eng.asp">Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)</a> to launch <a href="https://www.renewzoo.ca/">ReNewZoo</a>, a training program for graduate students in zoo conservation science. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1177348065864192000"}"></div></p>
<p>We involved six universities and five zoos from across Canada, providing training and internships for Master’s and PhD students as well as post-doctoral researchers. The goal of the program was to integrate graduate students and their research into Canadian and international zoos, bridging the gap with universities. </p>
<p>As part of this program, graduate students conducted their thesis projects in collaboration with zoos and had zoo staff on their advisory committees. </p>
<p>We integrated our annual symposium with the annual meeting of <a href="https://caza.ca/">Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums</a> where students presented their work to potential future employers and listened to experts speak about issues in zoo conservation science and the business of zoos. Our students then interned with zoos for a first-hand look at the daily operations of a zoo. </p>
<p>Finally, we had an online course where academics and practitioners met with our students to discuss the important issues facing zoo conservation. The students learned about the science of zoo conservation, as well as the history and ethics of zoos and their role in conservation.</p>
<h2>A success story</h2>
<p>But did it work? ReNewZoo supported 26 early career researchers working with zoos including the Toronto Zoo, Calgary Zoo, Vancouver Aquarium, the Insectarium de Montréal and the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg. </p>
<p>And these student researchers have already made many discoveries that can inform conservation practice. </p>
<p>In one such project involving the breeding and reintroduction of the endangered redside dace — a small, colourful stream fish — within Ontario’s Great Lakes region, Andy Turko, a ReNewZoo postdoctoral fellow, found that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2020-0377">thermal (temperature) tolerance of the fish’s source populations</a> is critical to the success of the reintroduction process.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1064231810958147584"}"></div></p>
<p>Another ReNewZoo student, Damien Mullin, in collaboration with the Toronto Zoo, proved that headstarting — a breeding-centric conservation strategy where hatchlings are kept in captivity for a period of time before reintroduction — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22390">improves survival in the endangered wood turtle</a>. </p>
<p>He, however, also found that keeping juvenile wood turtles in captivity for longer than a year did not improve survival much more. Zoos can now use this information to optimize their conservation strategies. </p>
<p>While Turko and Mullin made discoveries that can boost the success rate of reintroduced endangered species, ReNewZoo student Léa Fieschi-Méric found a way to successfully move endangered amphibians.</p>
<p>The skin of amphibians houses a community of bacteria that helps resist pathogens. Moving these species to support their recovery in the wild through the process of <a href="https://thewilderinstitute.org/conservation/conservation-translocations/#:%7E:text=">conservation translocation </a> can disrupt these communities of bacteria.</p>
<p>By successfully moving yellow-spotted salamander larvae from one lake to another in an experiment, Fieschi-Méric found that translocation <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16914">does not disrupt the community of bacteria living on the skin</a>.</p>
<p>The resulting peer-reviewed publications from these and other students are now available for academics and, most importantly, conservation practitioners to use and learn from. </p>
<h2>Bringing zoos and universities together</h2>
<p>Bringing zoos and universities together takes time, energy and money. But the benefits for conservation are far-reaching. We suggest a three-pronged approach to bridge these two types of institutions.</p>
<p>The foundation of any relationship is trust. Fostering connections between the people working at zoos and universities by conducting joint events, with invited speakers from each institution is a good way to start building the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article-abstract/62/5/1174/6623667?login=true">level of trust that will lead to productive collaborations</a>. </p>
<p>Graduate students are the bridge between zoos and universities. Funding graduate students and their stipends to work with zoos serves two purposes. First, the graduate students perform the actual research. Second, they serve as a source for new staff at the zoo, particularly related to roles in conservation. </p>
<p>Finally, formalizing the connections between zoos and universities with collaborative agreements, joint research appointments and even shared facilities will promote the sustainability of these relationships. </p>
<p>Collectively, these measures will enhance the conservation impact of zoos and universities and improve the chances that endangered species will survive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206280/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Lesbarrères receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). He works as a research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriela Mastromonaco receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trevor Pitcher receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).</span></em></p>
Zoos have the potential to do more for growing conservation science and practice.
Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde, Professor, Applied Evolutionary Ecology, Laurentian University
David Lesbarrères, Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, Laurentian University
Gabriela Mastromonaco, Adjunct Professor, Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph
Trevor Pitcher, Professor, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200570
2023-02-23T19:20:26Z
2023-02-23T19:20:26Z
The animals and plants that only exist in captivity – and why time is running out to restore them to the wild
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511958/original/file-20230223-16-qaypn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2400%2C1598&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Socorro dove (_Zenaida graysoni_) was confirmed to be extinct in the wild in 1981.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socorro_dove#/media/File:Zenaida_graysoni_-_Socorrotaube_-_Wildfarbig_-_Deutscher_Kanarien-_und_Vogelz%C3%BCchterbund_(DKB)_-_Vogelbund_-_Johann_Alexi.jpg">Johann Alexi/Freigabe-Nachweis</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It was April in 1981 when a party of four camped for two days and nights on the forested slopes of Mount Evermann, the central peak of Socorro, a volcanic island in the Pacific some 400 kilometres southwest of Baja California, Mexico. Their fruitless search confirmed their suspicions: the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22690740/178409463">Socorro dove</a>, an endearingly tame bird unique to the island, had disappeared, eaten by the cats of Spanish colonists, pushed out by grazing sheep and shot from the sky by hunters.</p>
<p>But the species had not vanished. Fifty six years prior to this search, in 1925, 17 Socorro doves had been collected from the island and transported to a bird keeper in California in the US. Somehow, almost 100 years later, the descendants of these birds – the last Socorro doves on the planet – are still with us, distributed across captive facilities in Europe and North America.</p>
<p>It’s a strange liminal space: disappeared from the wild, yet not entirely extinct. And it’s one not peculiar to the Socorro dove. <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.add2889">Our research</a> has confirmed that at least 33 animals and 39 plants no longer have wild populations, but survive under human care in places such as zoos, aquariums, botanic gardens and seed banks.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511987/original/file-20230223-4215-pkp18l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A tall palm tree with feathery protrusions." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511987/original/file-20230223-4215-pkp18l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511987/original/file-20230223-4215-pkp18l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511987/original/file-20230223-4215-pkp18l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511987/original/file-20230223-4215-pkp18l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511987/original/file-20230223-4215-pkp18l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511987/original/file-20230223-4215-pkp18l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511987/original/file-20230223-4215-pkp18l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The last known Tali palm in the wild.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corypha_taliera#/media/File:Corypha_taliera_Md_Sharif_Hossain_Sourav.jpg">Md Sharif Hossain Sourav</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These species are categorised as “extinct in the wild” under <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species</a>, the system conservation biologists use to evaluate and communicate extinction risk. It’s a diverse set that includes the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/1395299">manicillo</a>, a relative of the peanut only found in Bolivia; the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/38493/10118302">Tali palm</a> originally identified from a lone specimen on the campus of Dhaka University in Bangladesh; and a number of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231906900_From_61_species_to_five_Endemic_tree_snails_of_the_Society_Islands_fall_prey_to_an_ill-judged_biological_control_programme">tree snails</a> from the remote Society Islands in the Pacific Ocean.</p>
<p>In one sense, here is something worth celebrating: a group that has given extinction the slip. But what does the future look like for these species? Human care will not preserve them indefinitely. On the contrary, the longer they spend in captivity the more they risk becoming inbred or losing the genetic diversity that helps them resist diseases and other threats. Eventually, outright extinction looms, especially if their populations are small.</p>
<h2>Life in captivity</h2>
<p>A quirk in the red list means that conservationists don’t systematically count the numbers of seeds, plants or animals in captivity or monitor any changes in their status in the same way we do for threatened species in the wild. An extinct in the wild species numbering in the thousands is indistinguishable from one represented by a handful of individuals. We have somehow contrived to ignore the extinction risk of the very group of species for which we are most responsible.</p>
<p>Our review of this group uncovered reasons to be concerned. For the most part, it seems that these populations were founded by a tiny number of individuals and would require large populations, ideally in the thousands, to best insure against future genetic deterioration and extinctions. Unfortunately, where known, most species are held in small numbers (in the hundreds or lower), and across a small number of institutions (fewer than eight in most cases).</p>
<p>There also tends to be a lack of coordinated planning across institutions and regions where the same species is held. This is especially true for plants, where it’s not always known how many collections exist and where they are. Fortunately, there have been recent efforts by botanical gardens to share data and collaborate more closely. Seed banks are also important facilities that can store threatened plants as seeds for many decades or even centuries. But most extinct in the wild plant species can’t easily be found in online databases that might allow conservationists in different regions to work on joint recovery programmes.</p>
<p>Conservationists, and society more widely, must do better. We know that outright extinction is a real threat. Of the 95 species that have found themselves extinct in the wild or restricted to human care since 1950, 11 have since been lost forever, like the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/178595/101749951">Christmas Island whiptail-skink</a> and the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/37598/67372241">Saint Helena
olive</a>, a tree endemic to the island of the same name in the southern Atlantic Ocean.</p>
<h2>Return to the wild</h2>
<p>Is there hope? Perhaps surprisingly, yes. The flip side to the 11 species we’ve lost is the 12 that have been restored to the wild. These include the European bison, which, having disappeared from the wild in 1927, is now thriving in its native range in Eastern Europe and Russia, thanks to reintroduction efforts starting in the 1950s using stock from European zoos.</p>
<p>Encouragingly, more should follow: two-thirds of extinct in the wild animals and just under a quarter of extinct in the wild plants have already been released back to natural habitats. These nascent populations may not yet have reached true “wild” status by, for example, producing viable young, but this is a promising start. They show that being Extinct in the Wild needn’t be a dead end: it can be a platform for long-term restoration.</p>
<p>But if this is the aim for all extinct in the wild species and others perched on the brink, there must be a transformation in the way they are regarded and resourced. Conservationists should continue to rescue species nearing extinction and care for them in captivity. But collectively, we must also commit to revitalising the precarious populations under our care, with more individuals in more institutions. </p>
<p>Where return to the wild is a challenge, we must redouble efforts to find and mitigate threats in native habitat, or explore whether populations can be set up in new areas. Continued care of these wild populations will probably be needed.</p>
<p>Extinction looms but recovery is achievable. Conservation biologists have the tools for success, but need the support and attention of decision makers, funders and the broader public to deliver it.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 10,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200570/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Donal Smith is affiliated with the Institute of Zoology, part of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). ZSL operates two zoos, London Zoo and Whipsnade. The institute receives funding from Research England.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Elizabeth Dalrymple is affiliated with the IUCN Species Survival Commission's Conservation Translocation Specialist Group. </span></em></p>
Surviving solely in zoos and botanic gardens are 33 animal and 39 plant species.
Donal Smith, Postdoctoral Researcher in Conservation, Zoological Society of London
Sarah Dalrymple, Senior Lecturer in Conservation Ecology, Liverpool John Moores University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/187016
2022-07-15T04:56:23Z
2022-07-15T04:56:23Z
Was Tricia the elephant happy? Experts on the ethics of keeping such big, roaming creatures in captivity
<p>The beloved Asian elephant Tricia died at Perth Zoo this month at the ripe old age of 65, making her one of the world’s oldest elephants. </p>
<p>Tricia was born in 1957 and arrived at Perth Zoo in 1963 from Vietnam. Her keeper <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/tricia">described</a> her as expressive, playful, and mischievous.</p>
<p>Tricia’s death has led to an outpouring of grief in Perth, especially among zookeepers and her <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/local-news/perthnow-central/perth-zoo-reassures-patrons-of-wellbeing-of-elephants-putra-mas-and-permai-after-tricias-death-c-7506249">fellow elephants</a>, Putra Mas and Permai. But it has also sparked <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/vegan-activist-tash-peterson-stages-protest-outside-perth-zoo-after-death-of-beloved-elephant-tricia/news-story/31a7d6c5f1cf06994b084f4cc19c9f13">renewed debate</a> about the ethics of keeping such long-lived, wandering animals in zoos for decades. </p>
<p>This is an important topic to debate as, historically, elephant welfare in captivity has been poor. So are elephants generally happy and safe in enclosures today? </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vNcYpZRrtYU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Vale Tricia | Perth Zoo.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The challenges of keeping elephants captive</h2>
<p>Animal welfare, as a concept, is complex and evolving. In broad strokes, <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.558.5161&rep=rep1&type=pdf">welfare is defined</a> as an animal’s ability to avoid suffering and sustain fitness. This requires human carers to not only provide for physical needs, but mental ones. </p>
<p>But animal welfare wasn’t always a priority for captive elephants. A notorious example is elephants being held <a href="https://www.elephantvoices.org/elephants-in-captivity-7/in-circuses.html">captive in circuses</a>. These elephants were separated from their mothers at an early age for training, confined for long periods and moved improperly in flatbeds and box cars from place to place. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-efforts-to-save-its-wandering-elephants-are-laudable-but-lets-not-forget-its-bloody-conflicts-with-the-giants-162767">China’s efforts to save its wandering elephants are laudable, but let's not forget its bloody conflicts with the giants</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Promoting good welfare for elephants in captivity is difficult due to their larger size, which requires greater resources such as water, space and <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/elephants">up to 150 kilograms of food daily</a>.</p>
<p>Satisfying their space and exercise needs in a captive environment is likely impossible. In the wild, elephants can roam great distances – <a href="https://www.elephantsforafrica.org/elephant-facts/">up to 195km in a day</a> - and are continually on the move. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wQou-yhKdQQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An Asian elephant playing in a pool at Oregon Zoo.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These animals also have highly developed cognitive abilities, rivalling those of primates. For example, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.20257?casa_token=UDQJJf8UdicAAAAA:uyyYzdhLdlCBU-Oy7Fm6t4LGZWuO0fxljtMwGAQhowPplxP19MTWa19fU_scYXcfPIrRDmoG1nJOzQ">elephants can manufacture and use tools</a>, such as manipulating and stripping branches to swat insects. </p>
<p>Elephants have a playful side. They splash water and mud or, in dry periods, use their trunks to entangle the trunks of others under the shade of a tree.</p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.20257?casa_token=UDQJJf8UdicAAAAA:uyyYzdhLdlCBU-Oy7Fm6t4LGZWuO0fxljtMwGAQhowPplxP19MTWa19fU_scYXcfPIrRDmoG1nJOzQ">Various accounts</a> suggest they can also show compassion, be cooperative, recognise themselves in a mirror, and demonstrate altruism.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rewilding-conservationists-want-to-let-elephants-loose-in-europe-heres-what-could-happen-168212">Rewilding: conservationists want to let elephants loose in Europe – here's what could happen</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>They also demonstrate strong <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1050.2097&rep=rep1&type=pdf">social bonds</a> with other elephants. <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211740">Emerging evidence suggests</a> grief and comfort are displayed upon the death of a bonded family member. Management practices that disrupt these bonds lead to suffering.</p>
<p>Tricia became the foster mother of three elephant calves who came to Perth Zoo. Tragically in 2007, one of the elephants was euthanised due to health complications. Tricia grieved this loss for a year. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1546710309854781440"}"></div></p>
<h2>Animal welfare in modern zoos</h2>
<p>Modern Australian zoos have made animal welfare a top priority. <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/PerthZooWebsite/media/PerthZoo/Resources/CORP_PerthZooAnimalCharter2015.pdf">Some key considerations</a> in assessing welfare are the complexity of the enclosure, a varied and species-appropriate diet, behavioural enrichment and regular heath care. </p>
<p>Carers also <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/article/elephants-in-our-care">keep an eye out for behaviours</a> suggestive of fear, stress, and anxiety, such as pacing, aggression, and self-harm. </p>
<p>Perhaps one of the best examples of the progress of zoological parks is Tricia herself. The <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/tricia">captivity conditions</a> in her early days were poor, by today’s standards. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/early-trauma-affects-an-elephants-ability-to-assess-threat-from-lions-new-research-177315">Early trauma affects an elephant's ability to assess threat from lions – new research</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>She was originally housed in a concrete enclosure. Tricia was moved to a <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/article/jumbo-celebrations-as-tricia-turns-60!-">new enclosure in 1986</a> that included a new barn and pool. </p>
<p>The current elephant enclosure at Perth Zoo has <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/article/jumbo-celebrations-as-tricia-turns-60!-">tripled in size</a> and contains a swimming pool, mud wallow, trees, scratching posts, and a heated barn with sand floors and sleeping mounds. </p>
<p>Various activities aimed at improving her life quality were also available in the form of zoo walks and painting – an extension of drawing and scribbling elephants do in the wild. </p>
<p>As a reader you may be thinking that, sure, this sounds nice, but how could it really compare to the freedoms and space of the wild?</p>
<p>Unfortunately achieving good welfare in the wild is rarely a given either. Wild populations of Asian elephants are <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/7140/45818198">listed as endangered</a>, with a rapidly decreasing population and a long time between generations of 22-25 years. </p>
<p>They face <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/asian-elephant">many threats</a> such as urban encroachment, hunting and habitat decline. They’re also viewed as pests by farmers and timber loggers.</p>
<p>Today’s captive elephants are often part of breeding and conservation programs aimed at Asian elephants. While captive breeding programs are unlikely to make significant contributions to wild population numbers, highlighting their plight in the wild to visitors can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27291643/">promote the conservation message</a>. </p>
<p>Some zoos also use their experience to become involved in conservation efforts in the elephants’ home countries, where success is more likely. As an example, Australia Zoo has invested funds in an <a href="https://kingdomstv.com/steve-irwins-family-open-an-elephant-hospital-making-his-lifelong-dream-come-true/">Indonesian elephant hospital</a> to rehabilitate injured animals.</p>
<h2>The future of captive elephants</h2>
<p>Australian zoos are recognising the challenges of keeping certain species within their walls. We’re seeing a shift away from actively adding or replacing exotic species, in favour of redeveloping larger and more complex enclosures for remaining animals. Priority is given to species part of conservation and breeding programs. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1544883522225475585"}"></div></p>
<p>So can we re-introduce elephants who have spent most of their lives zoos, back into the wild? This would be unethical, due to their reliance on generational knowledge to find food, water and migration routes. </p>
<p>But there is increasing recognition of the need for stable social groups, and a resolve to house Asian elephants across fewer locations that can provide the best conditions for them. </p>
<p>For example, Perth Zoo is searching for <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/beloved-perth-zoo-elephant-tricia-nears-the-end-of-her-life-20220705-p5az4r.html">a new home</a> for their two remaining elephants where they can be integrated into a larger herd. And Melbourne zoo <a href="https://www.zoo.org.au/melbourne/habitats/trail-of-the-elephants/asian-elephant/">will house their herd</a> at Werribee Open Range Zoo, which will expand to 21 hectares available for roaming.</p>
<p>Only time will tell what the future holds for elephants in zoos. But we should take heart in the progress that has been made to elephant housing and care over the last 50 years, as well as a greater recognition of any emerging issues, ensuring robust debate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187016/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Turner has a PhD supervisor, affiliated with Zoos SA; however they were not involved with the creation of this article</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Whittaker has previously received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. </span></em></p>
Vale Tricia: the beloved Asian elephant called Perth Zoo home since 1963. Her death has led to an outpouring of grief in Perth, especially among zookeepers and her fellow elephants.
Jessica Turner, PhD Candidate, University of Adelaide
Alexandra Whittaker, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/181216
2022-05-23T12:24:02Z
2022-05-23T12:24:02Z
Where was the world’s first zoo?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462883/original/file-20220512-13-zubvvf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3362%2C2243&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Interior view of Polito's Royal Menagerie, Exeter Change, Strand, Westminster, London, 1812.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/interior-view-of-politos-royal-menagerie-exeter-change-news-photo/464478237">Heritage Images/Hulton Archives via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Who made the first zoo? – Veronica, age 11, Accokeek, Maryland</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>The truth is historians don’t know who built the first zoo, or when it was built. But we can be confident it happened a very long time ago. </p>
<p>Human fascination with animals goes back as far as humans do. In the oldest cave paintings discovered, some of which are <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/worlds-oldest-known-figurative-paintings-discovered-borneo-cave-180970747/">up to 40,000 years old</a>, there are more images of animals than people. </p>
<p>At some point, humans began to capture and hold animals so they could look at them up close whenever they wanted.</p>
<h2>Zoos for the lucky few to enjoy</h2>
<p>The first known collections of exotic animals were held by royalty – and were not open to the public. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462886/original/file-20220512-22-o693si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Photo of an archaeological dig site showing a curled-up skeleten of a baboon." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462886/original/file-20220512-22-o693si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462886/original/file-20220512-22-o693si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462886/original/file-20220512-22-o693si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462886/original/file-20220512-22-o693si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462886/original/file-20220512-22-o693si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462886/original/file-20220512-22-o693si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462886/original/file-20220512-22-o693si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Remains of a baboon discovered in the ancient Egyptian cemetery of Hierakonpolis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">©Renee Friedman, Courtesy of Hierakonpolis Expedition</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Archaeological digs in the ancient Egyptian city of Nekhen have found buildings from around 3500 B.C. containing the <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/leopards-hippos-cats-oh-worlds-first-zoo/">remains of captive hippos, baboons and elephants</a> – animals not native to Egypt. But life wasn’t easy for these animals. They probably had short lives, and <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/150525-ancient-egypt-zoo-pets-hierakonpolis-baboons-archaeology">their remains show evidence of severe injuries</a>. </p>
<p>The tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Sahure, who died around 2500 B.C., includes realistic images of <a href="https://smb.museum-digital.de/object/643?navlang=en">Syrian bears wearing collars and leashes</a>. It’s thought they had been <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26058327">brought back from a trading expedition</a>. How long the bears lived is anyone’s guess. </p>
<h2>Public zoos open to all</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/2040/new-worlds-new-animals">The first public exhibit of animals</a> may have been created by <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/hatshepsut">Egypt’s Queen Hatshepsut</a> around 1480 B.C. Researchers think the zoo was started with animals brought home from an <a href="https://www.hope-of-israel.org/expeditionpunt.html">expedition the queen sent to a far-off land known as Punt</a>, which may have been modern-day Eritrea. It’s unclear why she built the zoo, but it might have been to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-014-9160-9">show off her wealth and right to rule</a>. Keeping dangerous and exotic animals in captivity has sometimes been a way for rulers to demonstrate how powerful they are. </p>
<p>Early zoos are found all over the world. In China, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wenwang">Emperor Wen-Wang</a> is said to have built a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/zoo#ref165294">“Garden of Intelligence” around 1060 B.C.</a> It <a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/2040/new-worlds-new-animals">included deer, birds and many fish</a>.</p>
<p>In England, <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/menagerie-9780198714712">King Henry I set up a menagerie in about 1110</a> as part of the royal estate at Woodstock, in Oxfordshire. His collection included tigers, camels, lions and porcupines. This collection eventually moved to the Tower of London in 1235, around the time <a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-tower-of-london-menagerie/">King Henry III was given three lions</a> by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. The Tower animal collection stayed at that location for 600 years. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462887/original/file-20220512-12-soiyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An illustration of two tigers attacking a lion inside a caged room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462887/original/file-20220512-12-soiyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462887/original/file-20220512-12-soiyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462887/original/file-20220512-12-soiyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462887/original/file-20220512-12-soiyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462887/original/file-20220512-12-soiyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462887/original/file-20220512-12-soiyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462887/original/file-20220512-12-soiyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Two tigers attack a lion in the Tower of London Menagerie on Dec. 3, 1830. The lion was so seriously injured, it died a few days later.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/extraordinary-and-fatal-combat-which-accidentally-took-news-photo/464478505">Heritage Images/Hulton Archives via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you visit the Tower today, you can see some of the cages: They are bare stonework with metal bars. It is hard to imagine that animals had good lives there. The king of France sent an elephant in 1255. Even though it had its own special housing, <a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-tower-of-london-menagerie/">it died after only a couple years</a>. The collection once included a <a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-tower-of-london-menagerie/">polar bear that was allowed to swim in the Thames River on a long chain</a>. At one time, the cost of admission for public visitors was either a small fee or <a href="https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/03/priority-18th-century-pay-admission-zoo-london-bringing-cat-dog-feed-lions/">a stray dog or cat to feed to the lions</a>. </p>
<p>In the Americas, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Montezuma-II">Montezuma II</a> had a zoo in Tenochtitlan, now known as Mexico City, in the late 1500s. <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/Z/bo14397600.html">It included numerous birds, carnivorous mammals and snakes</a>. This zoo was so large that <a href="https://mexicounexplained.com/montezumas-zoo/">300 people were employed to take care of the animals</a>. The emperor personally gave a tour of the zoo to the first visitors from Europe. The Spanish soldiers, led by Hernán Cortés, <a href="https://mexicounexplained.com/montezumas-zoo/">wrote about how much they admired the zoo</a> even though they went on to destroy it <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Tenochtitlan">during the conquest of Tenochititlan in 1591</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462892/original/file-20220512-17-od7t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A crowd of people wearing turn of the 20th century clothing in front of a two story tall monkey enclosure with many tree branches inside." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462892/original/file-20220512-17-od7t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462892/original/file-20220512-17-od7t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462892/original/file-20220512-17-od7t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462892/original/file-20220512-17-od7t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462892/original/file-20220512-17-od7t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=636&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462892/original/file-20220512-17-od7t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=636&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462892/original/file-20220512-17-od7t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=636&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The monkey house at the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna. Hand-colored lantern slide, around 1900.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-monkey-house-at-the-schoenbrunn-zoo-vienna-13th-news-photo/89777872">Imagno/Hulton Archive</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The oldest continuously operating zoo in the world – still open in the same place – is the Schönbrunn Zoo, which was built in Vienna in 1752. The zoo is famous for being the first to use many design innovations, such as keeping animals in <a href="https://www.zoovienna.at/en/">naturalistic settings and putting several species together</a> in one enclosure. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/zoos-and-aquariums-shift-to-a-new-standard-of-animal-welfare-that-depends-on-deeper-understanding-of-animals-lives-164839">Zoos have come a long way</a>, especially in how they care for animals. In fact, many of today’s zoos are also conservation organizations, focused on protecting endangered animals.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181216/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael J. Renner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Historians aren’t sure exactly when the first zoo was built, but it’s clear humans have kept exotic animals for thousands of years.
Michael J. Renner, Professor of Biology, Psychology, and Environmental Science & Sustainability, Director Zoo & Conservation Science, Drake University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/179147
2022-03-21T12:03:55Z
2022-03-21T12:03:55Z
Ukraine’s zoos: what is happening to all the animals
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453091/original/file-20220318-23-2ehppm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No one knows what is going to happen to all the animals at Ukraine's zoos.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Details are starting to emerge on how Ukraine’s zoos are coping with the war. Some of the animals including lions, tigers and wild cats have been rehomed to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kyiv-zoo-ukraine-russia-animal-rescue-b2028186.html">zoos in Poland</a> but this is just not going to be possible for many species. </p>
<p>The current situation in Ukraine is having a drastic effect on the nation’s zoos, just as WWII did at London Zoo. Right now, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA) are working to support the Ukrainian zoos as <a href="https://www.waza.org/news/waza-statement-on-ukraine/">much as they can</a>.</p>
<p>There are three large zoos, Nikolaev Zoo, Kyiv Zoological Park and Kharkiv Zoo, in cities currently under attack by the Russian military, which have talked about how they are <a href="https://www.waza.org/news/waza-statement-on-ukraine/">currently coping</a>. Outsiders might think the best thing to do would be to evacuate the animals into a safer environment away from the war zone. But this is an incredibly risky endeavour. In a tense and difficult environment animals may be fearful of the sounds around them. Loading highly stressed animals into crates and transporting them across noisy and complicated conflict zones could cause severe illness or death, quite apart from the danger of being hit by gunfire.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1497392796201857025"}"></div></p>
<h2>Noise affects animals</h2>
<p>Zoo animals are used to a degree of noise when visitors come to their enclosures. Even human chatter has been shown to cause zoo animals to become stressed or change their <a href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.ntu.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0168159114001051">behaviour</a>. But mostly, the impact of visitors on zoo animals is <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/6/366">negligible</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/zoos-are-key-to-the-planets-healthy-future-dont-let-them-go-extinct-144297">Zoos are key to the planet's healthy future – don't let them go extinct</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Research on the effect of explosions near zoo animals, as is happening near some Ukrainian zoos, is not something that has been studied but we do have some possible comparisons to construction work. A <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/8/504">study</a> published in 2019 investigated how elephants, giraffes and emus coped with zoo construction work. Elephants, giraffes and emus reacted with stress and agitation and moved to quieter areas of their enclosures. Giraffes also moved closer to other animals in their herd, a behaviour seen in wild giraffes indicative of increased protection.</p>
<p>With the scale of war and associated explosions being much higher than construction work, we could assume that this will be having a terrifying impact on the animals housed at these zoos. At Kyiv zoo some animals are being <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/03/02/blasts-bombs-and-bullets-threaten-the-animals-of-kyiv-zoo">given sedatives</a> or moved to underground spaces, and keepers are staying with them overnight.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A girl feeding a giraffe." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453093/original/file-20220318-19-11susu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453093/original/file-20220318-19-11susu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453093/original/file-20220318-19-11susu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453093/original/file-20220318-19-11susu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453093/original/file-20220318-19-11susu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453093/original/file-20220318-19-11susu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453093/original/file-20220318-19-11susu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">So far Ukraine’s biggest zoos are not evacuating most of the animals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Problems with moving homes</h2>
<p>On March 18 EAZA released a statement to say that: “Ukrainian zoos are generally still not asking for our assistance to relocate animals from high-risk zones; this may not correspond to information you are receiving in the general media coverage, but we support the direct request of the zoos not to relocate animals for the present.”</p>
<p>We also need to consider where would they go. Neighbouring zoos may not have the space, staffing needs, expertise or specially designed enclosures to house these animals. </p>
<p>Even in normal circumstances, moving zoo animals is not an easy task, animal transportation can have negative effects on the animal’s welfare. Animals undergoing transportation <a href="https://doi.org/10.1638/2019-0029">can experience</a> dehydration, fatigue, behavioural changes and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1638/2019-0029">stress</a>. Research has also shown that animals form relationships with the keepers and so this might have additional <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/6/381">welfare implications</a> if animals are moved under stressful conditions to new locations. </p>
<p>As the war continues, there have been <a href="https://twitter.com/ScooterCasterNY/status/1502623957903683589">reports</a> of zoo animals being killed in the blasts and “many animals dead with others roaming the streets”, including lions, but these reports have not been verified by zoos. </p>
<h2>What can we learn from the past?</h2>
<p>London zoo was established in 1828 and has survived two world wars, and its history of coping during bombing raids may have useful lessons.</p>
<p>On September 3 1939, WWII began and at 11am that day, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), who run London zoo, were told to close it by the government. London zoo had been preparing for this. The records show that two giant pandas, two orangutans, four chimpanzees, three Asian elephants and an ostrich were relocated to Whipsnade zoo outside London for safety. ZSL have <a href="https://www.zsl.org/blogs/artefact-of-the-month/zsl-london-zoo-during-world-war-two#:%7E:text=The%20Zoo%20was%20bombed%20several,day%20was%2027th%20September%201940">collated</a> documents from this era that tell us what went on. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, some of the venomous animals were killed to increase the safety of the public and staff in case any were able <a href="https://www.zsl.org/blogs/artefact-of-the-month/zsl-london-zoo-during-world-war-two#:%7E:text=The%20Zoo%20was%20bombed%20several,day%20was%2027th%20September%201940">to escape</a> due to an invasion. Parts of the zoo were able to reopen but the aquarium remained closed until 1943 in case of bombing. The tanks were emptied and some inhabitants had to be killed – although some fish were moved to tubs in the tortoise house.</p>
<p>London zoo started breeding its own invertebrate supplies such as mealworms. Requests for acorns and other items to feed the animals were broadcast on the radio and the public donated them at a rate of <a href="https://www.zsl.org/blogs/artefact-of-the-month/zsl-london-zoo-during-world-war-two#:%7E:text=The%20Zoo%20was%20bombed%20several,day%20was%2027th%20September%201940">one ton a week</a>. The public were also able to adopt animals and help support them – this might be something that could happen in Ukraine’s zoos.</p>
<p>By March 18 2022, the <a href="https://www.eaza.net/emergency-appeal-for-ukrainian-zoos?fbclid=IwAR2PxKwvCTbHQuHcMvY3HitD8KeSeP_E22XiyINgpPyyg2EGU0b8V-7QZdA">EAZA Ukraine Emergency Fund</a> had raised €576,371 (£483,768) from a very large number of individual and institutional donors, “an extraordinary and humbling result that will help provide immediate and long-term assistance to colleagues in Ukraine,” said EAZA. Funds raised will be used to assist Ukrainian zoos to provide food and care to animals in conditions of relative welfare and safety, as well as providing support for care staff and management at the zoos.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Ward does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Ukraine’s zoos are struggling to look after their animals, but are getting international support.
Samantha Ward, Senior Lecturer in Animal Science and Zoo Animal Welfare, Nottingham Trent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/164839
2022-01-04T13:06:54Z
2022-01-04T13:06:54Z
Zoos and aquariums shift to a new standard of ‘animal welfare’ that depends on deeper understanding of animals’ lives
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437579/original/file-20211214-16318-1n9vnvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3617%2C2802&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Climbers must climb, diggers must dig and runners must run. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/chimpanzee-and-little-boy-at-zoo-royalty-free-image/141763718">Doris Rudd Designs, Photography/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1980 I visited the zoo in a major U.S. city and found row after row of bare concrete boxes with jailhouse-style bars occupied by animals from around the world. The animals appeared to be in good physical condition, but many were staring into space or pacing restlessly around the edges of their tiny quarters. It was depressing. I’m not naming the zoo, because you could have seen the same thing at most U.S. zoos in that era. </p>
<p>More recently, visitors to many zoos and aquariums see animals in surroundings that resemble their native habitat, behaving in ways that are typical for their species. What has changed?</p>
<p>In the intervening years, the professional zoo and aquarium community has fundamentally altered the way it views the task of caring for the animals in its collections. Instead of focusing on animal care, the industry is now requiring that zoos meet a higher standard – animal welfare. This is a new metric, and it represents a huge change in how zoos and aquariums qualify for accreditation.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=-73NJvEAAAAJ">scientist who studies animal behavior</a>, both in captivity and in the wild. This recent development in the zoo world is the result of an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zoolgart.2017.04.007">evolution in the scientific understanding of animals’ lives and welfare</a>. It also reflects zoos’ and aquariums’ <a href="https://www.aza.org/conservation">increasing focus on conservation</a>. </p>
<h2>From trophy case to conservation message</h2>
<p>Since the first <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/leopards-hippos-cats-oh-worlds-first-zoo/">animal menageries in ancient Egypt</a>, zoos and aquariums have taken a progression of forms. </p>
<p>The British Royal Menagerie, which was <a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-tower-of-london-menagerie/">housed in the Tower of London</a> from the early 13th century until 1835, served as an animated trophy case. In Europe, exotic animal collections were often displayed in garden settings for the amusement of the gentry, and by the late 18th century, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Jardin-des-Plantes">for the general public as well</a>. These places often functioned as stationary circuses, sensationalizing the strangeness of animals from afar. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white photo of people wearing old style clothes and hats at a zoo with an elephant behind bars." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437273/original/file-20211213-23-1ovjg4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The palace of the pachyderms at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, circa 1900.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-palace-of-the-pachyderms-at-the-jardin-des-plantes-in-news-photo/147800837">ND/Contributor/Roger Viollet via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Victorian England, zoos were recast as edifying entertainments. This was also true in the U.S., where the <a href="https://philadelphiazoo.org/about-the-zoo/">first zoo opened to the public in Philadelphia</a> in 1874. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white photo of an animal that looks like a striped wolf in a brick and cement zoo enclosure." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437276/original/file-20211213-17-u0l8fe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A thylacine, or ‘Tasmanian wolf’ or ‘Tasmanian tiger,’ in captivity, circa 1930. These marsupials are now presumed extinct.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/thylacine-or-tasmanian-wolf-or-tasmanian-tiger-in-captivity-news-photo/83208787">Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Early zoos weren’t very good at keeping animals alive. In the first half of the 20th century, though, zoos began to focus on animals’ physical health. This ushered in the “bathroom” era in zoo design, with an <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/Z/bo3535747.html">emphasis on surfaces that could be steam-sterilized</a>, such as ceramic tile. </p>
<p>Over the past 50 years, a landscape immersion model of zoo design has risen to prominence, as institutions have evolved into conservation and education organizations. By displaying animals in settings resembling their natural habitat – and setting the scene for visitors to imagine themselves in that habitat – the hope is to instill in visitors who might never see a lion in its element a passion for its preservation. </p>
<h2>Changing standards</h2>
<p>Accreditation is a mechanism for maintaining and pioneering best practices. Being accredited by the <a href="https://www.aza.org/">Association of Zoos and Aquariums</a> is the highest level of professional recognition for North American zoos and aquariums. Fewer than <a href="https://www.aza.org/current-accreditation-list">250 out of approximately 2,800</a> animal exhibitors licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are AZA accredited.</p>
<p>To earn that accreditation, a zoo or aquarium must demonstrate alignment with its mission, a sound business operation and significant activity in the areas of education, conservation and research. But the centerpiece of accreditation is demonstrating quality of life for animals under human care. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of seal having its teeth brushed by the gloved hands of a keeper." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437284/original/file-20211213-23-8vf0dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A marine mammal trainer brushes the teeth of a seal at the New England Aquarium in Boston in 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/joseph-krochmal-marine-mammal-trainer-brushes-the-teeth-of-news-photo/1209360517">Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For decades, the focus was on practices that correlate with animal health, like absence of illness, successful reproduction and longevity. The AZA has published objective standards for what it means to provide proper care for a tapir, a tiger or a Japanese spider crab – for example, requirements specifying certain amounts of physical space, environmental temperature ranges and cleaning routines. These <a href="https://www.aza.org/animal-care-manuals">extensive and detailed standards</a> were devised by working groups of experts in various species from across the zoo and aquarium community and based on the best available scientific evidence. </p>
<p>A recent revision to accreditation standards in 2018, however, supersedes this model in favor of a new goal – that a zoo or aquarium demonstrate it has achieved animal welfare. Not only must animals be healthy, but they should also display behavior typical of their species. Climbers must climb, diggers must dig and runners must run. </p>
<h2>Understanding the lives of animals is central</h2>
<p>Over the past 60 years, scientific understanding of animals’ cognitive abilities has exploded. A large body of scientific work has shown that a relatively rich or impoverished <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4612-4766-1">environment has effects on both brain and behavior</a>. Such awareness has led the zoo and aquarium community to formally embrace a higher standard of care.</p>
<p>Zoo or aquarium personnel can provide such behavioral opportunities only if they know what is normal for that species in the wild. So optimizing animal welfare requires a knowledge base that is both broad and deep. For example, a zoo must understand what is normal behavior for a pygmy marmoset before it can know what behavioral opportunities to provide. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A lion uses its paw to maneuver a large disclike object" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437655/original/file-20211214-21-np60ys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An African lion investigates a new enrichment device at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Moffitt, Blank Park Zoo</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many zoos and aquariums house hundreds of animal species. Each species exists because it occupies a unique niche in the ecosystem, so the conditions that produce ideal welfare for one species may not be the same as those for a different species. </p>
<p>Developing welfare standards for the wide diversity of zoo species will take time and quite a bit of research. Although AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums contribute <a href="https://www.aza.org/field-conservation">over $200 million per year to research</a> in over 100 countries around the world, the need for conservation research always far outstrips the available funding. </p>
<p>How old is an eastern black rhinoceros before it begins to go on adventures away from its mother? If a flamingo chick has a medical issue that is successfully resolved, how can keepers tell if its development has been affected? How can keepers evaluate whether items introduced into the enclosure of a troop of Japanese macaque monkeys, intended to enrich their environment, are actually serving that purpose? Knowing the answers to these questions, and a multitude of other similar ones, will help the zoo community truly optimize the welfare of animals under their care.</p>
<p>Another major factor behind the AZA’s new standard is its role in species conservation. Captive animals typically outlive their wild counterparts. Zoos and aquariums are the figurative lifeboat for an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/16/world/animal-reintroduction-extinct-wild-c2e-hnk-spc-intl-scn/index.html">increasing number of species that are extinct in the wild</a>. Simply keeping an animal alive is now no longer enough. Zoo-based efforts to save endangered species will succeed only if understanding of the animals’ lives is fully integrated with husbandry standards.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael J. Renner is a pro bono member of the board of directors and chairperson of the research commitee at Blank Park Zoo (<a href="http://www.blankparkzoo.net">www.blankparkzoo.net</a>), an AZA accredited zoo. He is also a pro bono member of the board of directors for the Ape Initiative (<a href="http://www.apeinitiative.org">www.apeinitiative.org</a>), an AZA certified facility.</span></em></p>
A fundamental change in how North American zoos and aquariums are accredited supports their animal conservation and species survival work.
Michael J. Renner, Professor of Biology, Psychology, and Environmental Science & Sustainability, and director of the program in Zoo & Conservation Science, Drake University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/166397
2021-11-23T13:30:30Z
2021-11-23T13:30:30Z
Scientist at work: Endangered ocelots and their genetic diversity may benefit from artificial insemination
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432290/original/file-20211116-25-1e4gv3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1384%2C1010%2C3607%2C2267&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wild ocelots hunt alone at night.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ocelot-is-hunting-at-night-at-the-san-francisco-ranch-in-news-photo/1219080513">Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The female ocelot lay anesthetized on the exam table, behind the scenes at the Albuquerque Biopark Zoo. As a veterinarian on the team preparing to artificially inseminate this animal, my palms were sweating at the thought of missing a step, dropping the sperm sample, or finding out our sample did not survive freezing. Any of these possibilities would end the procedure.</p>
<p>It was the first time anyone was trying to produce a pregnancy in a zoo-born female ocelot using sperm recovered from a deceased wild male ocelot. If the July 2021 operation worked, it would give his genes a way to live on past his death. This procedure was an important step in efforts to conserve endangered cat species so they can persist into the future.</p>
<p>Ocelots are medium-sized felines weighing around 20 to 30 pounds (9 to 13 kilograms) with sleek spotted coats. Their diet consists of small mammals, rodents, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Ocelots are primarily solitary cats, most active in the evening from dusk to dawn.</p>
<p>While people manage zoo-housed ocelots’ reproduction to maintain genetic diversity, it’s a different story for their wild relatives. There are <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T11509A50653476.en">currently only 50 to 80 ocelots</a> (<em>Leopardus pardalis</em>) known to exist in the wild in the U.S., and that population is too small to be sustainable long term. <a href="https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/4474">These endangered animals</a> face ongoing threats of habitat loss and fragmentation, and vehicle strikes. And because of their diminished numbers, they are at risk of inbreeding. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="street sign warning of ocelot crossing" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432291/original/file-20211116-17-y7xeen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With so few individuals left in the wild in the U.S., each ocelot hit by a car could affect the species’ survival.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/ocelot-crossing-road-sign-royalty-free-image/855966216">kzubrycki/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over the past 25 years, scientists at the <a href="http://cincinnatizoo.org/conservation/crew/">Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife</a>, or CREW, led by veterinarian Bill Swanson, have been working on technologies that may eventually help add some more genetic diversity to the wild ocelot population. They’ve <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/rda.12069">developed and refined techniques</a> for sperm collection, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1530/jrf.0.1060087">frozen storage</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.112.105353">artificial insemination of ocelots</a> and other endangered cat species.</p>
<p>These innovations have played a key role in sustaining the genetic diversity of cat populations within zoos. Now, we’re trying to go a step further and apply these techniques in wild ocelots.</p>
<p>By creating gene flow among zoo-based ocelots and wild ocelots in different regions, we can increase the genetic diversity of both populations. With wild ocelots, we hope to combat their declining ability to produce offspring, fight infection and maintain adequate numbers in the wild for conservation of the species in the U.S.</p>
<h2>Salvaging sperm to increase diversity</h2>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JyYbknYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">As a recently graduated veterinarian</a>, I joined my mentor, Debra Miller, at the University of Tennessee’s Comparative and Experimental Medicine Department and in her work at UT’s Center for Wildlife Health. From there, my interests in wildlife conservation led me to this multi-institutional collaboration focusing on the conservation of wild Texas ocelots.</p>
<p>This project relies on the routine collection and freezing of semen from wild ocelots in the field – usually living animals, but sometimes ones that have been found dead. Our semen stockpile lets us preserve genetic material even if these cats are killed by disease, natural disasters or road collisions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="tanks containing many frozen animal semen samples" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430877/original/file-20211108-19-fkek42.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The CREW CryoBioBank at the Cincinnati Zoo currently holds over 20,000 total semen samples from 82 animal species ranging from elephants to salamanders – including 30 cat species/subspecies – at temperatures of -320 F (-196 C) in liquid nitrogen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Uhlman</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For the artificial insemination procedure this past summer, the sperm donor was <a href="https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/ocelot/">a Texas ocelot</a> that died after being hit by a car. While this male’s death was a tragedy, there is a chance his genes may live on in future offspring thanks to the quick report of his death and the retrieval, shipping and processing of his gonads.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Placing cryovial of animal semen in a storage tank" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=708&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430875/original/file-20211108-21-1kd1vi0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thirteen 0.25-milliliter semen straws are in each goblet tube within the canisters inside the frozen storage tank.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Uhlman</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Back at CREW in Cincinnati, Bill Swanson worked to recover the cat’s sperm for future artificial insemination procedures. He froze 20 plastic straws, each containing about 8 million viable sperm. In addition to this deceased male, I have collected and cryopreserved semen from several living wild males for future use. </p>
<p>By testing thawed semen, our team has found that many of these sperm samples were capable of fertilizing cat eggs in vitro. The next step is figuring out whether the frozen wild ocelot semen really can produce kittens via artificial insemination. So Swanson packed up three frozen straws to ship to Albuquerque in a liquid nitrogen dry shipper tank to make sure they remain at -320 F (-196 C) throughout the journey.</p>
<h2>After the thaw, hoping for kittens</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.1010">Ocelots are induced ovulators</a>, meaning <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2006.03.011">a female must mate in order to release an egg</a> into her reproductive tract. The female we were working with was treated with hormones to help her ovulate at the proper time relative to the insemination procedure. The relief was overwhelming when we confirmed, by laparoscopically looking at the surface of the ovary, that the female had ovulated multiple eggs. </p>
<p>After thawing the semen straws, my excitement began to increase because we could see the deceased ocelot’s sperm swimming rapidly across a slide under the microscope. The sperm had survived the freezing and thawing process and was still in great shape.</p>
<p>I took multiple deep breaths to steady my hands as my smile spread from ear to ear. Bill Swanson positioned the insemination needle within each oviduct, I injected the sperm into both sides of the female’s reproductive tract, and the procedure was complete. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, although the female responded well to the ovulation synchronization protocol, and the artificial insemination procedure was performed without a hitch, she did not conceive. That’s not an uncommon outcome when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4320(00)00099-3">using frozen semen</a>.</p>
<p>However, we are optimistic that future procedures – using semen samples from this specific male and other frozen samples from living, wild ocelots – will successfully produce pregnancies. By the end of 2021, we plan to conduct two additional artificial insemination procedures with zoo-managed ocelots, followed by three or four more in 2022.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="leashed ocelot stands atop cryo tanks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431082/original/file-20211109-27-zdrke4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sihil the ocelot began life as a frozen embryo in one of these liquid nitrogen cold storage tanks. Kittens born via artificial insemination will be the next step.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Uhlman</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If any of these artificial insemination procedures result in the birth of offspring, it will be the first time kittens have been produced with frozen semen from a wild ocelot. They’ll add greater diversity to the ocelot population managed in North American zoos, while improving our understanding of possibilities for increasing genetic diversity within wild ocelot populations. This success would help demonstrate the feasibility of producing kittens using frozen semen from the endangered Texas ocelot population.</p>
<p>Further refinement of the knowledge and techniques to create genetic exchange between wild and zoo-managed ocelot populations or among wild ocelot populations living in fragmented habitats will help ensure that these animals survive into the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166397/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashley Reeves is a PhD student within the University of Tennessee Comparative and Experimental Medicine Department and The Center for Wildlife Health. She receives funding from The University of Tennessee and The East Foundation. </span></em></p>
There are so few wild ocelots in the US that the cats are becoming inbred, with a bad prognosis for their ultimate survival. But researchers are perfecting ways to get new genes into the population.
Ashley Reeves, DVM, PhD Candidate in Comparative and Experimental Medicine, University of Tennessee
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/161048
2021-06-03T14:42:19Z
2021-06-03T14:42:19Z
Conservation activists suing Indonesian zoo could inspire global action on endangered species trade
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403377/original/file-20210528-17-1eic27n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4007%2C2842&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Komodo dragons were illegally exhibited at the zoo.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/komodo-dragon-largest-lizard-world-walks-116793451">Anna Kucherova/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a court in rural Indonesia, an environmental group recently filed a lawsuit of global importance. Their case is against a zoo in North Sumatra that it’s alleged <a href="https://www.mongabay.co.id/2019/09/10/mabes-polri-bredel-kebun-binatang-diduga-ilegal-di-padang-lawas-utara/">illegally exhibited</a> <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">threatened species</a>, including Komodo dragons and <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/orangutan">critically endangered Sumatran orangutans</a>.</p>
<p>The illegal wildlife trade is a multibillion-dollar industry that threatens species globally, <a href="https://www.esa.org/esablog/2016/11/17/what-is-illegal-wildlife-trade/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20Ecotone%20%28EcoTone%29">from elephants to orchids</a>. Plants, animals and fungi are harvested from the wild and sold to customers around the world as attractions in zoos, as pets, for food, as souvenirs or as medicine. </p>
<p>People caught trafficking wildlife are typically tried in criminal law cases, in which courts impose fines or prison sentences that punish the responsible parties in order to deter would-be criminals. But in this recent case, rather than seek punishment against the Indonesian zoo, the activists brought a civil lawsuit ordering the zoo to remedy the harm it allegedly caused by exhibiting these species illegally.</p>
<p>In the press release <a href="http://walhisumut.org/2021/04/13/walhi-north-sumatra-files-lawsuit-against-pt-nuansa-alam-nusantara-for-illegally-keeping-animals-in-a-zoo-without-permits/">announcing the lawsuit</a>, the North Sumatra Chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi Sumut) and Medan Legal Aid Institute said they were suing to cover the costs of care for one Sumatran orangutan confiscated from the zoo, and to fund monitoring of orangutan habitat to aid the recovery of their wild population. The resulting bill exceeds US$70,000 (£49,438). The typical criminal sanction for wildlife crime in Indonesia is <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/s4x8c/">around US$3,500</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An orangutan pokes its arm through the bars of a large cage." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403333/original/file-20210528-23-1wrgr4n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403333/original/file-20210528-23-1wrgr4n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403333/original/file-20210528-23-1wrgr4n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403333/original/file-20210528-23-1wrgr4n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403333/original/file-20210528-23-1wrgr4n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403333/original/file-20210528-23-1wrgr4n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403333/original/file-20210528-23-1wrgr4n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the orangutans in the zoo before it was confiscated in 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Walhi North Sumatra</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The activists are also asking the zoo to publicly apologise and to create educational exhibits that explain how the illegal trade and use of wildlife harms nature and society. Surprisingly, these types of legal strategies that aim to repair harm – rather than punish perpetrators – have been <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/s4x8c/">largely overlooked</a> by conservationists in many countries. The Indonesian zoo lawsuit could demonstrate the value of a new legal approach for protecting threatened wildlife. </p>
<h2>Historical precedents</h2>
<p>The zoo lawsuit parallels landmark pollution cases, such as the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon oil spills, where the responsible parties (in these cases, oil companies) were sued by government agencies and citizens and required to clean up pollution, compensate victims and restore affected habitats. It is also similar to innovative <a href="https://theconversation.com/directors-are-in-the-crosshairs-of-corporate-climate-litigation-117737">climate change lawsuits</a> that have argued for the world’s largest oil and gas companies to pay for <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d5fbeae4-869c-11e9-97ea-05ac2431f453">building protective sea walls</a>, and other measures which help mitigate the effects of global warming. </p>
<p>Similar legal approaches haven’t been a major part of enforcing conservation laws. But through our work in <a href="http://conservation-litigation.org/">Conservation Litigation</a> – a project led by conservationists and lawyers – colleagues and I are working to bring such lawsuits against offenders globally.</p>
<p>Many countries already have laws that would allow these lawsuits, including in biodiversity hotspots such as Mexico, Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia. The <a href="https://www.jus.uio.no/lm/environmental.development.rio.declaration.1992/13.html">1992 UN Rio Convention</a> called on states to “develop national law[s] regarding liability compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage”. Although laws that oblige offenders to remedy environmental harm have been established already, the Indonesian zoo case is unique as one of the first times such a law has been applied to address wildlife crime.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/510514912" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The case could serve to influence public views and policies around biodiversity. This has been an important benefit of litigation in other areas, such as in cases against <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1747-4469.1998.tb00037.x">tobacco companies</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/shouldnt-there-be-a-law-against-reckless-opioid-sales-turns-out-there-is-121021">opioid manufacturers</a>. </p>
<p>Over the years, these lawsuits have secured compensation for healthcare costs, public admissions of guilt from executives <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/24/opinion/cigarettes-tobacco-ads-smoking-death.html">and corrective adversiting</a> to clarify earlier misinformation. These cases have not only benefited individual victims, but helped shift attitudes and reform public health policies and company practices. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/uruguays-victory-against-big-tobacco-is-more-than-just-a-local-triumph-62319">Uruguay's victory against Big Tobacco is more than just a local triumph</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The zoo lawsuit could achieve something similar by holding the zoo liable for downstream harms caused by its involvement in the illegal wildlife trade. By requesting public apologies and support for educational programmes, the lawsuit would not only seek to remedy harm to individual animals and species, but to help shape public perceptions and policy.</p>
<p>It’s also significant that this case is being brought by a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Governments can bring criminal cases against offenders, while the NGOs cannot. But in many countries, citizens and civil society groups are permitted to launch civil lawsuits in response to environmental harm, expanding the potential for public conservation action.</p>
<p>These types of lawsuits are often hindered by difficulties paying lawyers, corruption in legal systems and the <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/defending-tomorrow/">intimidation of activists</a>. With more than <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01448-4#:%7E:text=Landmark%20United%20Nations%2Dbacked%20report,biggest%20threats%20to%20Earth's%20ecosystems.&text=Up%20to%20one%20million%20plant,the%20state%20of%20global%20ecosystems.">one million species</a> potentially facing extinction, it’s important to recognise and support these rare cases which are testing new ways to protect the planet’s most threatened forms of life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161048/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacob Phelps receives funding from the UK government through the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.</span></em></p>
The lawsuit resembles earlier legal efforts to make tobacco companies remedy wrongdoing.
Jacob Phelps, Senior Lecturer in Conservation Governance, Lancaster University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/142240
2020-09-24T12:26:02Z
2020-09-24T12:26:02Z
The neural cruelty of captivity: Keeping large mammals in zoos and aquariums damages their brains
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349253/original/file-20200723-33-1boc6lr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3346%2C2232&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Photograph of an elephant brain. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.wits.ac.za/staff/academic-a-z-listing/m/man/paulmangerwitsacza/">Dr. Paul Manger/ University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://elephantsinjapan.com/worlds-loneliest-elephant-hanako/">Hanako</a>, a female Asian elephant, lived in a tiny concrete enclosure at Japan’s Inokashira Park Zoo for more than 60 years, often in chains, with no stimulation. In the wild, <a href="https://www.elephantvoices.org/elephant-sense-a-sociality-4/elephants-are-socially-complex.html">elephants live in herds</a>, with close family ties. Hanako was solitary for the last decade of her life. </p>
<p><a href="https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/whales/kiska-alone-again/">Kiska</a>, a young female orca, was captured in 1978 off the Iceland coast and taken to Marineland Canada, an aquarium and amusement park. Orcas are social animals that live in family <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/o/orca/">pods</a> with up to 40 members, but Kiska has lived alone in a small tank since 2011. Each of her five calves died. To combat stress and boredom, she swims in slow, endless circles and has gnawed her teeth to the pulp on her concrete pool.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, these are common conditions for many large, captive mammals in the “entertainment” industry. In decades of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KvCW9T0AAAAJ&hl=en">studying the brains of humans, African elephants, humpback whales and other large mammals</a>, I’ve noted the organ’s great sensitivity to the environment, including serious impacts on its structure and function from living in captivity. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349255/original/file-20200723-31-16bcfav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349255/original/file-20200723-31-16bcfav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349255/original/file-20200723-31-16bcfav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349255/original/file-20200723-31-16bcfav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349255/original/file-20200723-31-16bcfav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349255/original/file-20200723-31-16bcfav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349255/original/file-20200723-31-16bcfav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349255/original/file-20200723-31-16bcfav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hanako, an Asian elephant kept at Japan’s Inokashira Park Zoo; and Kiska, an orca that lives at Marineland Canada. One image depicts Kiska’s damaged teeth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elephants in Japan (left image), Ontario Captive Animal Watch (right image)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Affecting health and altering behavior</h2>
<p>It is easy to observe the overall health and psychological consequences of life in captivity for these animals. Many captive elephants suffer from arthritis, obesity or skin problems. Both <a href="https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2620.1826-36">elephants</a> and orcas often have severe dental problems. Captive orcas are plagued by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2019.05.005">pneumonia, kidney disease, gastrointestinal illnesses and infections</a>. </p>
<p>Many animals <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.09.010">try to cope</a> with captivity by adopting abnormal behaviors. Some develop “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2017.05.003">stereotypies</a>,” which are repetitive, purposeless habits such as constantly bobbing their heads, swaying incessantly or chewing on the bars of their cages. Others, especially big cats, pace their enclosures. Elephants rub or break their tusks. </p>
<h2>Changing brain structure</h2>
<p>Neuroscientific research indicates that living in an impoverished, stressful captive environment <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2019.05.005">physically damages the brain</a>. These changes have been documented in many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.903270108">species</a>, including rodents, rabbits, cats and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1006/nimg.2001.0917">humans</a>. </p>
<p>Although researchers have directly studied some animal brains, most of what we know comes from observing animal behavior, analyzing stress hormone levels in the blood and applying knowledge gained from a half-century of neuroscience research. Laboratory research also suggests that mammals in a zoo or aquarium have compromised brain function. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359445/original/file-20200922-16-gunhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359445/original/file-20200922-16-gunhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359445/original/file-20200922-16-gunhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359445/original/file-20200922-16-gunhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359445/original/file-20200922-16-gunhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359445/original/file-20200922-16-gunhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359445/original/file-20200922-16-gunhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359445/original/file-20200922-16-gunhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This illustration shows differences in the brain’s cerebral cortex in animals held in impoverished (captive) and enriched (natural) environments. Impoverishment results in thinning of the cortex, a decreased blood supply, less support for neurons and decreased connectivity among neurons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Arnold B. Scheibel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Subsisting in confined, barren quarters that lack intellectual stimulation or appropriate social contact seems to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1590/S0001-37652001000200006">thin the cerebral cortex</a> – the part of the brain involved in voluntary movement and higher cognitive function, including memory, planning and decision-making.</p>
<p>There are other consequences. Capillaries shrink, depriving the brain of the oxygen-rich blood it needs to survive. Neurons become smaller, and their dendrites – the branches that form connections with other neurons – become less complex, impairing communication within the brain. As a result, the cortical neurons in captive animals <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.901230110">process information less efficiently</a> than those living in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.420020208">enriched, more natural environments</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349257/original/file-20200723-25-16c33n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349257/original/file-20200723-25-16c33n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349257/original/file-20200723-25-16c33n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349257/original/file-20200723-25-16c33n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349257/original/file-20200723-25-16c33n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349257/original/file-20200723-25-16c33n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349257/original/file-20200723-25-16c33n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349257/original/file-20200723-25-16c33n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An actual cortical neuron in a wild African elephant living in its natural habitat compared with a hypothesized cortical neuron from a captive elephant.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bob Jacobs</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brain health is also affected by living in small quarters that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3233/BPL-160040">don’t allow for needed exercise</a>. Physical activity increases the flow of blood to the brain, which requires large amounts of oxygen. Exercise increases the production of new connections and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw2622">enhances cognitive abilities</a>.</p>
<p>In their native habits these animals must move to survive, covering great distances to forage or find a mate. Elephants
typically travel anywhere from <a href="https://www.elephantsforafrica.org/elephant-facts/#:%7E:text=How%20far%20do%20elephants%20walk,km%20on%20a%20daily%20basis.">15 to 120 miles per day</a>. In a zoo, they average <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0150331">three miles daily</a>, often walking back and forth in small enclosures. One free orca studied in Canada swam <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0958-x">up to 156 miles a day</a>; meanwhile, an average orca tank is about 10,000 times smaller than its <a href="https://www.cascadiaresearch.org/projects/killer-whales/using-dtags-study-acoustics-and-behavior-southern">natural home range</a>. </p>
<h2>Disrupting brain chemistry and killing cells</h2>
<p>Living in enclosures that restrict or prevent normal behavior creates chronic frustration and boredom. In the wild, an animal’s stress-response system helps it escape from danger. But captivity traps animals with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1215502109">almost no control</a> over their environment. </p>
<p>These situations foster <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000033">learned helplessness</a>, negatively impacting the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/6391686">hippocampus</a>, which handles memory functions, and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.02.024">amygdala</a>, which processes emotions. Prolonged stress <a href="https://doi.org/10.3109/10253899609001092">elevates stress hormones</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.10-09-02897.1990">damages or even kills neurons</a> in both brain regions. It also disrupts the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.03.021">delicate balance of serotonin</a>, a neurotransmitter that stabilizes mood, among other functions.</p>
<p>In humans, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1006/nimg.2001.0917">deprivation</a> can trigger <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00367">psychiatric issues</a>, including depression, anxiety, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00367">mood disorders</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1073858409333072">post-traumatic stress disorder</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-010-0288-3">Elephants</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050139">orcas</a> and other animals with large brains are likely to react in similar ways to life in a severely stressful environment. </p>
<h2>Damaged wiring</h2>
<p>Captivity can damage the brain’s complex circuitry, including the basal ganglia. This group of neurons communicates with the cerebral cortex along two networks: a direct pathway that enhances movement and behavior, and an indirect pathway that inhibits them. </p>
<p>The repetitive, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2014.05.057">stereotypic behaviors</a> that many animals adopt in captivity are caused by an imbalance of two neurotransmitters, dopamine and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.02.004">serotonin</a>. This impairs the indirect pathway’s ability to modulate movement, a condition documented in species from chickens, cows, sheep and horses to primates and big cats.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349258/original/file-20200723-17-dzrjt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Image of brain showing areas affected by captivity" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349258/original/file-20200723-17-dzrjt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349258/original/file-20200723-17-dzrjt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349258/original/file-20200723-17-dzrjt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349258/original/file-20200723-17-dzrjt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349258/original/file-20200723-17-dzrjt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349258/original/file-20200723-17-dzrjt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349258/original/file-20200723-17-dzrjt3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The cerebral cortex, hippocampus and amygdala are physically altered by captivity, along with brain circuitry that involves the basal ganglia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bob Jacobs</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Evolution has constructed animal brains to be exquisitely responsive to their environment. Those reactions can affect neural function by <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/311787/behave-by-robert-m-sapolsky/">turning different genes on or off</a>. Living in inappropriate or abusive circumstance alters biochemical processes: It disrupts the synthesis of proteins that build connections between brain cells and the neurotransmitters that facilitate communication among them. </p>
<p>There is strong evidence that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0577-11.2011">enrichment</a>, social contact and appropriate space in more natural habitats are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-1090.2003.tb02071.x">necessary</a> for long-lived animals with large brains such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152490">elephants</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13880292.2017.1309858">cetaceans</a>. Better conditions <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5543669/">reduce disturbing sterotypical behaviors</a>, improve connections in the brain, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/cdd.2009.193">trigger neurochemical changes</a> that enhance learning and memory. </p>
<h2>The captivity question</h2>
<p>Some people defend keeping animals in captivity, arguing that it helps conserve endangered species or offers educational benefits for <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.574.3479&rep=rep1&type=pdf">visitors to zoos and aquariums</a>. These justifications are questionable, particularly for <a href="https://animalstudiesrepository.org/acwp_zoae/8/">large mammals</a>. As my own research and work by many other scientists shows, caging large mammals and putting them on display is undeniably cruel from a neural perspective. It causes brain damage. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Public perceptions of captivity are slowly changing, as shown by the reaction to the documentary <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfish_(film)">“Blackfish</a>.” For animals that cannot be free, there are well-designed sanctuaries. Several already exist for elephants and other large mammals in <a href="https://www.elephants.com/">Tennessee</a>, <a href="https://globalelephants.org/overview/">Brazil</a> and Northern <a href="http://www.pawsweb.org/about_our_sanctuaries.html">California</a>. Others are being developed for large <a href="https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/">cetaceans</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps it is not too late for Kiska. </p>
<p><em>Dr. Lori Marino, president of the <a href="https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/">Whale Sanctuary Project</a> and a former senior lecturer at Emory University, contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142240/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bob Jacobs does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Life in captivity causes observable harm to the structure and function of large mammals’ brains.
Bob Jacobs, Professor of Neuroscience, Colorado College
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/144297
2020-08-26T12:09:12Z
2020-08-26T12:09:12Z
Zoos are key to the planet’s healthy future – don’t let them go extinct
<p>The coronavirus pandemic has caused significant disruption to all businesses, but zoos seemed to have struggled more than most. Around the world all have recognised the same challenge: without paying visitors, their survival is at stake. </p>
<p>Some have already lost the battle, including the small but unique coastal zoo Living Coasts in Devon, England, which had to <a href="https://www.livingcoasts.org.uk/">close permanently</a>. Others – from the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/06/08/coronavirus-zoos-aquariums/">US</a> to <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/05/13/coronavirus-french-zoo-losing-millions-amid-covid-19-lockdown">France</a> – have reported cancelling development projects, pulling back on vital conservation work or laying off staff.</p>
<p>The main reason for this is that they have high fixed costs: you can’t furlough the animals, so you can’t furlough those caring for them. Due to the ever-increasing expectations to maintain the highest possible animal welfare, zoos also heavily invest in their facilities, in many cases using bank loans. Combine this with highly seasonal income and zoos found themselves in the middle of a perfect storm when lockdown hit.</p>
<p>Despite zoos in many countries being reopened, in most cases they have to cap daily visitor numbers in line with government guidelines, resulting in further losses of revenue in their peak season. UK zoos are especially exposed to these effects, as unlike many zoos in Europe, the US or Australia, they don’t receive any government funding for their running costs.</p>
<p>UK zoos raised the alarm at the beginning of the lockdown, but the government was slow to acknowledge their unique needs. After months of negotiation it agreed to provide a £100 million emergency zoo fund, but access to it has <a href="https://biaza.org.uk/news/detail/100mzooanimalsfundgoes-live">severe limitations</a>. Despite the best efforts of the zoo community, it’s essentially designed to prevent a large-scale animal welfare crisis only. Even in the financially fitter zoos, redundancies are <a href="https://www.chesterzoo.org/news/a-message-from-the-ceo/">well underway</a>, directly non-animal related positions being more at risk. This is threatening the very core function of zoos: education, research and conservation.</p>
<p>Turning tourism income directly into conservation spend is a unique capability of zoos. Thanks to the more than 700 million visitors they receive annually, zoos around the world spend over <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.20369">$350 million</a> a year on conservation. More than <a href="https://blooloop.com/news/biaza-economic-impact-zoos-aquariums/">10%</a> of this comes from UK zoos. At least <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6503/516.full">77 species</a> that are extinct in the wild are currently only maintained in zoos and botanical gardens.</p>
<p>Zoos also published thousands of scientific studies in the past couple of decades. The European zoo research output <a href="https://www.jzar.org/jzar/article/download/486/317">tripled</a> in the past 10 years alone. Close to <a href="https://jzar.org/jzar/article/view/458">250 academic institutions</a> carry out research in collaboration with UK zoos – most of these are part of the training of the next generation of scientists. </p>
<p>The existence of good zoos allows me to contribute to vital research and field conservation projects across five continents. A big part of my work now is to pass on the torch (and some of my knowledge) to students and professionals – and I can’t do this without zoos.</p>
<h2>The future of zoos</h2>
<p>The current pandemic is the <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/science-points-causes-covid-19">direct result</a> of our reckless and ruthless mismanagement of nature and our distorted relationship with wildlife. It’s ironic that it also threatens one of the few institutions, zoos, which are dedicated to study and preserve nature and educate us all about a more balanced way of living in peace with it.</p>
<p>It is crucial that zoos continue to innovate, as they have throughout their history. They are looking for new ways to deliver conservation education better using technology, or even to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-captive-animals-are-coping-with-the-sudden-emptiness-of-the-worlds-zoos-and-aquariums-138668">create new research opportunities</a> in the chaos. The challenge is to find ways that these can provide sustainable income streams.</p>
<p>In the past 200 years, zoos around the world became true conservation powerhouses and one of the most accessible ways to reconnect our urbanising species with nature. Yet in the UK they are remarkably undervalued compared to other cultural institutions. As leading zoo figures, including myself, put forward in a recent white paper for the government authored by the largest UK charitable zoos and aquariums, the best <a href="https://biaza.org.uk/news/detail/biaza-reveals-the-economic-impact-of-member-zoo-and-aquariums">evidence</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.21372">facts</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771416300283">figures</a> all show that good UK zoos need, and well deserve, the support of the government.</p>
<p>There is a compelling argument, and indeed many international examples, that partial or full government funding for some of the best UK zoos could lead to further increased conservation and science output, and provide safe and healthy places to visit for families.</p>
<h2>Green prescription</h2>
<p>Considering the physical and psychological benefits of visiting modern zoos, one innovative way to increase funding could be to include zoos in the new <a href="https://theconversation.com/green-prescriptions-should-your-doctor-send-you-for-a-walk-in-the-park-143231">green prescription system</a>. Evidence suggests that a visit to the zoo is <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0231383&fbclid=IwAR1g5sJ7nxqJIgDYLnIYveKFBVWeSSDbXMK4-RIc_9FRZYryWwNGV5JPHsc">literally good for you</a>: it can lower your blood pressure and stress hormone level, while making you happier, more energised and less tense. </p>
<p>Zoos provide exceptional value for money: one could “prescribe” an annual pass for well under £100 a year, providing countless opportunities to exercise and reconnect with nature even during a pandemic. Over <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/uk-population/">80%</a> of the UK population is urban, for them zoos can provide one of the very few easily accessible and affordable green spaces.</p>
<p>Many zoos also experienced great support in the days of hardship. Private donations ranging from £10 to thousands of pounds came from their local communities. Though clearly this is not enough to keep them running without the usual income, it proved that there is a significant support for their existence and that, for many of us, zoos mean more than just a simple day out. Examples from the USA show that this has a great potential, as many American zoos have complete animal habitats, veterinary and research facilities or conservation programmes funded completely by wealthy private donors.</p>
<p>But ultimately zoos need stability and paying visitors. A recurring cycle of lockdowns would inevitably be lethal for many of them. Clear government guidelines and adequate financial support, which recognises the complexity of zoos beyond the simplistic animal welfare support scheme, is one of the most important ways to save zoos for the future. In turn, they will continue to save wildlife and wild places around the globe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144297/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matyas Liptovszky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Zoos are struggling more than most businesses.
Matyas Liptovszky, Honorary Assistant Professor of Zoo Animal Medicine, University of Nottingham
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/138668
2020-05-18T13:33:39Z
2020-05-18T13:33:39Z
How captive animals are coping with the sudden emptiness of the world’s zoos and aquariums
<p>More than 700 million people visit zoos and aquariums each year <a href="https://www.waza.org/">worldwide</a>, so human visitors are usually a constant presence for the animals that live there. But the COVID-19 pandemic has forced these places to close to the public, plunging resident animals into an empty silence. </p>
<p>Instead, zoos have been opening virtually during the lockdown, allowing people to see behind the closed doors from the comfort of their living rooms. Chester Zoo in the UK hosted an online tour so popular that it “<a href="https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/relive-chester-zoos-first-ever-18006186">broke the internet when it went viral</a>” according to one zookeeper, with hundreds of thousands of people worldwide flocking to the zoo’s Facebook page.</p>
<p>Zoo workers have described how animals are greeting the isolation during COVID-19 closures. One zoo in India reported that animals were “<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/call-of-the-wild-quiet-brings-out-animal-instincts-at-zoo/articleshow/75665638.cms">loving the quiet spell</a>” – foxes were “frolicking around”, the hippopotamus was happily splashing in its pool and even the tigers were enjoying a dip. In other zoos, animals seem to be <a href="https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/animals-twycross-zoo-are-missing-4119435">missing people</a>. Twycross Zoo’s curator reported primates looking for zoo visitors, for instance. </p>
<p>Some zoo animals are forgetting all about their previous lives, with garden eels at one Japanese aquarium hiding when staff members approached their enclosure. Workers have asked the public to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/01/japanese-aquarium-urges-public-to-video-chat-eels-who-are-forgetting-humans-exist">make video calls to their eels</a>, to try and prevent them from seeing visitors as a threat when the aquarium reopens. Meanwhile, some animals are enjoying the freedom of daily zoo walks, like the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVfTGFBJ8a8">penguins at the Shedd Aquarium</a> in Chicago, which were let out to wander the empty halls and look into the other enclosures.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1257113784503742465"}"></div></p>
<p>Is this reprieve from regular visitors healthy for zoo animals? And how will they respond to people suddenly flooding back once zoos reopen? Researchers and animal charities are worried that our pets will develop <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/dogs-trust-separation-anxiety-pets-coronavirus-lockdown-a9477541.html">separation anxiety once their owners return to work</a>. The opposite might happen among zoo animals. Will captive creatures be desperate for the public to return or have they adapted to a slower, quieter life?</p>
<h2>When zoos reopen</h2>
<p>As zoos that have closed for months <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/coronavirus-lockdown-europe-austria-pools-zoos-opened-a4426021.html">reopen their doors</a>, we have an opportunity to study how visitors influence the lives of zoo animals. While we can’t predict the future, previous research on how zoo animals have responded to changes in visitor schedules might give us some idea of what to expect. </p>
<p>During the night, zoo animals are used to relative peace and quiet. For many, beyond the odd security warden, there are no visitors. But before COVID-19, some zoos did open their doors outside of normal opening hours, for <a href="https://www.colchester-zoo.com/event/starlight-safari-night-2/">late-night tours</a> and <a href="https://twycrosszoo.org/events/twycross-zoo-safari-sleepover-camping-experience/">overnight camps</a>.</p>
<p>Typically, we study animal behaviours to understand how they may be feeling and try to make judgements about their experiences. From that, we can say that zoo animals have tended to show mixed responses to evening events. A <a href="http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/142/1422582743.pdf">study</a> at a zoo in Germany found that elephants sought comfort from others in their herd during an evening firework display, but they didn’t retreat into their indoor enclosures. <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/vmi/2017/6585380/">Researchers</a> at London Zoo noticed no changes in the behaviour of lions during sunset safaris, on evenings when the zoo was open for visitors until 10pm, compared to their behaviour during normal opening hours.</p>
<p>Across the board, changes in the usual routines of zoo animals affect different species in different ways. The quiet caused by vanished visitors might mean more animals performing attention-seeking behaviours to try and interact with visitors more than normal, as keepers have reported chimpanzees doing <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/life-covid-19-animals-zookeepers-maryland-zoo/story?id=70422788">during lockdown</a>, as they reach out towards workers who would usually feed them by hand. It may also cause them to be overly skittish to human visitors when they return, like the garden eels in Japan.</p>
<p>This is the longest time many zoo animals will have gone without the public, and zoo staff will have to help them transition back to normal life. Most zoos are planning <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-52493750">phased reopenings</a> of animal houses to prevent the sudden changes in noise disturbing the animals. </p>
<p>Some animals, especially those born during the COVID-19 lockdown, will never have experienced life in the public eye. Many up-close animal encounters <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-zoos-must-change-to-keep-great-apes-safe-from-coronavirus-134692">will have to change</a>, particularly as <a href="https://theconversation.com/transmission-of-diseases-from-humans-to-apes-why-extra-vigilance-is-now-needed-134083">humans can transmit coronaviruses to great apes</a> in captivity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-zoos-must-change-to-keep-great-apes-safe-from-coronavirus-134692">How zoos must change to keep great apes safe from coronavirus</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>On your next visit, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-behave-at-a-zoo-according-to-science-73873">be cool, calm and collected</a>. Keepers and other zoo staff will be on hand to guide you, helping enforce social distancing and supporting you on how best to behave around the animals. Your local zoo will need visitors more than ever when they reopen. But remember, zoo animals will be experiencing their own post lockdown fuzz, and, just like you, they may need time to adjust.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138668/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
One aquarium in Japan has asked the public to make video calls to captive garden eels so they don’t forget about human visitors.
Ellen Williams, Lecturer in Animal Science, Nottingham Trent University
Jessica Rendle, Honorary Postdoctoral Associate in Conservation Medicine, Murdoch University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/136527
2020-05-01T16:31:21Z
2020-05-01T16:31:21Z
Lockdown challenges – what evolution tells us about our need for personal space
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331478/original/file-20200429-51457-er4ajj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Humans are intensely social creatures. We all need company and social contact. But for many of us, being at home for long periods with a small group of people – even those we love best – can become frustrating. </p>
<p>One key to understanding why constant contact with our family feels so unusual comes from looking at how social groups work in other primate species. </p>
<p>Normally, a primate’s interaction with others is very well balanced. Neither our ancestors before <em>Homo sapiens</em> nor our close relatives like chimpanzees and bonobos <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3456921/#CR42">would usually live in fixed, unchanging social settings</a>. Instead, their natural social groups are flexible, which gives them the space and time to change their interactions over short time periods.</p>
<p>These kinds of group, which are more complex than those of many mammals, are called <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(17)30800-X.pdf">multi-level</a> or “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982206011924">fission-fusion</a>” societies. They consist of an overarching group that splits up and then comes back together on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis. </p>
<p>Subgroups can vary in composition, with individuals coming and going. The distance that they travel away from one another can vary, as does the length of time subgroups stay together. Some, like mother-offspring groups, can last for years. Others are <a href="http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/chimpanzee/behav">much shorter lived</a> and reflect rapidly shifting alliances, fallings out and friendships. </p>
<p>This is similar to human friendship groups, some of which last for lifetimes and others for only the brief duration of a holiday.</p>
<h2>Space to breathe</h2>
<p>Zoos need to understand the importance of providing animals in captivity with appropriate social environments for them to thrive in. In monkeys and apes, disturbed behaviour patterns resulting in psychotic behaviour have been a topic of research for <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Descent-Madness-Evolutionary-Origins-Psychosis/dp/1583917438">over 30 years</a>. From this, it seems clear that the need for personal space and a desire to have control over the intensity and frequency of our contact with our families is not exclusive to humans. </p>
<p>Living in social groups is a <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/primate-sociality-and-social-systems-58068905/">fundamental survival strategy</a> for primates and is one of the reasons why it’s so difficult to provide great apes with good homes in captivity. </p>
<p>Modern humans, meanwhile, often have the freedom to split their homes into multiple rooms and use other spaces for work and leisure. This helps us (under normal circumstances) to have a mixture of privacy, companionship and family time. In lockdown of course, we have much less freedom. Social relationships that are normally maintained through a combination of intense interaction and periods of separation – while children attend school and adults go to work – now exist in close, long-term proximity.</p>
<p>Humans also have the most flexible and variable social networks of any primate species. Our social groups of roughly 150 individuals include “circles” <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/social-media-affect-math-dunbar-number-friendships">of predictable sizes</a> of successively closer people. And unlike chimpanzees, we have <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goodness-Paradox-Evolution-Made-Violent/dp/1781255830">no firm boundaries to our groups</a>. </p>
<p>A human social network is not a clear cut unit where any individual is either in or out. Instead, the boundaries are fluid, and at the edges new people come in as others leave. Bonobos have a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-15320-w">similar approach</a>.</p>
<p>Each of our social networks also overlaps to differing degrees with others. A friend who is definitely part of my network will have their own network that overlaps with mine to a greater degree than a distant acquaintance. </p>
<p>For human hunter-gatherers, this sort of network structure – with close ties and distant ones, and non-overlapping connections among members of the same tribe – is vital to survival. At times of extreme stress, like a serious drought, having one or two contacts a long way away gives you somewhere to go <a href="https://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/ehrafe/citation.do?method=citation&forward=browseAuthorsFullContext&id=fx10-020">if you can’t stay at home</a>. </p>
<p>A home group may fission (split) for a season, with each family heading off to their distant friends, and come back together when conditions improve. The group can do this without losing their overall identity. This can also help at times of social conflict, allowing much needed time to cool off.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331483/original/file-20200429-51500-1i19fwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331483/original/file-20200429-51500-1i19fwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331483/original/file-20200429-51500-1i19fwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331483/original/file-20200429-51500-1i19fwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331483/original/file-20200429-51500-1i19fwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331483/original/file-20200429-51500-1i19fwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331483/original/file-20200429-51500-1i19fwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Quiet time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-headphones-relaxing-home-late-704548654">Shutterstock/Stokkete</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In essence, while we have evolved to be very sociable, we are nevertheless accustomed (culturally and evolutionarily) to flexible social networks that give us personal space to manage our lives and relationships. Both isolation and too much enforced proximity to the same people can be detrimental to our mental health.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-experts-in-evolution-explain-why-social-distancing-feels-so-unnatural-134271">Coronavirus: experts in evolution explain why social distancing feels so unnatural</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There is hope, however. Humans are resilient creatures who will find strategies to achieve some sense of personal space during lockdown, whether it’s through modern technology or a simple solitary stroll. </p>
<p>Negotiating ways for each individual in a household to control their natural need for personal space, at least some of the time, is key. Knowing that your personal time will be respected can help to ease the strain of enforced sociability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136527/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Freedom of movement for survival.
Vivien Shaw, Lecturer in Anatomy, Bangor University
Isabelle Catherine Winder, Lecturer in Zoology, Bangor University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/134692
2020-04-01T14:57:15Z
2020-04-01T14:57:15Z
How zoos must change to keep great apes safe from coronavirus
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324600/original/file-20200401-66130-4fvkl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=197%2C125%2C5793%2C3862&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Western lowland gorilla in a zoo enclosure in Prague, Czech Republic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/prague-czech-republic-september-11-2019-1512203753">Benislav/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Our closest living relatives are the six species of great ape: chimpanzees, bonobos, Western lowland gorillas, Eastern lowland gorillas, Bornean orangutans and Sumatran orangutans. All of them are endangered, or critically endangered, and at risk of becoming <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31034733">extinct in our lifetime</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31034733">threats to their survival in the wild</a> should now be known. Their forest homes are at risk of destruction, they are poached for the illegal trade in wildlife and bush meat, and climate change threatens to disrupt their access to food and water. Perhaps less discussed, but no less lethal, is the risk posed by infections transmitted by humans. These are “zoonotic” diseases – those which can be passed from humans to animals and vice versa.</p>
<p>COVID-19 is <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-origins-genome-analysis-suggests-two-viruses-may-have-combined-134059">one such case</a>, and while much of our worries about zoonotic diseases centre on their risk of transmission from wild animals to humans, zoonotic diseases have decimated great ape populations. Diseases in great apes of probable human origin have been described <a href="https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/120003238761/">since the 1960s</a>. </p>
<p>Great apes share about 98% of human DNA, and they also share susceptibility to several human pathogens. During the Ebola virus epidemic between 1994 and 2003 in Central Africa, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17010400">wildlife surveys</a> were carried out in two areas of Gabon, before and after the outbreak. Between the two surveys, gorilla and chimpanzee populations in the areas shrank by 90-98%. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324602/original/file-20200401-66163-68rsjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324602/original/file-20200401-66163-68rsjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324602/original/file-20200401-66163-68rsjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324602/original/file-20200401-66163-68rsjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324602/original/file-20200401-66163-68rsjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324602/original/file-20200401-66163-68rsjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324602/original/file-20200401-66163-68rsjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most ape species are highly social, which helps diseases spread rapidly through populations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chimpanzee-family-112144970">LeonP/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With the exception of orangutans, which are semi-solitary, it’s no surprise that infectious diseases such as Ebola can wipe out a large population of highly social Gabonese gorillas and chimpanzees – it is spread through direct contact with blood and body fluids. Like us, great apes mourn the loss of those within their close-knit groups. Chimpanzees <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep44091#ref-CR7">have been observed</a> using firm grass to remove debris from the teeth of deceased group members.</p>
<p>Zoos are where most people encounter great apes, and they play <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/izy.12181">a leading role in their conservation</a>, from captive breeding programmes to research and public awareness campaigns. But there are risks involved. In 2009, a respiratory disease broke out in a group of 30 chimpanzees housed at Chester Zoo. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23505710">The disease</a> had been transmitted from human visitors to the chimpanzees and, sadly, three apes died. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-experts-in-evolution-explain-why-social-distancing-feels-so-unnatural-134271">Coronavirus: experts in evolution explain why social distancing feels so unnatural</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s not just the close quarters of zoos where zoonotic disease transmission is possible. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6021434/">human coronavirus</a> was observed in a group of wild chimpanzees living in Tai National Park in Côte d'Ivoire between late December 2016 and early January 2017. It’s not known who transmitted the disease, but researchers working at the park believe poachers could have been responsible.</p>
<p>Although COVID-19 has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/24/coronavirus-poses-lethal-threat-to-great-apes-experts-warn">not yet been reported in great apes</a>, given the history of zoonotic diseases – especially their rapid spread and difficult containment – we should assume that transmission is likely and strict measures are needed to prevent it.</p>
<p>All UK zoos and safari parks are now closed, but once the pandemic slows down and they reopen, there will need to be lasting changes that limit contact and educate the public about zoonotic diseases and their threat to great apes.</p>
<h2>Saving apes from a distance</h2>
<p>Some zoos are testing their animal care staff for coronavirus and advising any who <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/coronavirus-at-the-zoo-social-distancing-with-gorillas.html">feel ill to stay at home</a>. Staff have been told to check their temperature regularly, wear face masks, and carry out deep cleaning of zoo enclosures. Some keepers have chosen to live on site and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/the-animals-arent-pleased-how-shut-uk-zoos-are-coping-under-coronavirus-lockdown">away from their families</a>. </p>
<p>Many zoos currently allow close encounters between visitors and captive apes, including feeding events, where people are encouraged to throw <a href="https://www.longleat.co.uk/ticket/gorilla-feeding-vip-experience">food into their enclosures</a>. In many zoos worldwide, visitors are invited to play the role of zoo keeper, which involves mucking out, preparing food, feeding animals and helping with training. </p>
<p>These practices that allow visitors close contact with great apes, including behind-the-scenes tours, will have to change. The latest guidance from the <a href="https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/45793">International Union for the Conservation of Nature</a> (IUCN) says the distance normally kept between people and great apes in zoos should increase from seven to ten metres. Anyone who has been ill should stay away from great ape enclosures for at least 14 days after they have recovered. It may be necessary to stop all close-up experiences with apes in the future, and use digital guidebooks and phone apps to educate the public about great apes and their conservation. </p>
<p>The good news is that people are likely to learn just as much about great apes this way, without the need for close encounters. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10645578.2012.660839">One study</a> compared the effects of different presentations to zoo visitors about the impact of palm oil on orangutans and their habitats, and found that 83% of visitors could recall key facts after a live presentation by staff.</p>
<p>COVID-19 could change a great deal about the relationship between humans and their closest living relatives. But we can still enjoy their presence and learn more about them while keeping a safe distance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134692/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lesley Elizabeth Craig does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
People can still learn a great deal about these mammals while keeping a safe distance.
Lesley Elizabeth Craig, PhD Researcher, University of Stirling
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/131045
2020-02-06T00:32:45Z
2020-02-06T00:32:45Z
Looks like an ANZAC biscuit, tastes like a protein bar: Bogong Bikkies help mountain pygmy-possums after fire
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313476/original/file-20200204-41527-e3fwo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1198%2C840&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Zoos Victoria/Tim Bawden</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s recent bushfires have razed over ten million hectares, and killed at least a <a href="https://theconversation.com/bushfires-left-millions-of-animals-dead-we-should-use-them-not-just-bury-them-129787">billion animals</a>. It’s likely countless <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-31/fact-check-have-bushfires-killed-more-than-a-billion-animals/11912538">more</a> will die in the aftermath, as many species face starvation as the landscape slowly regenerates.</p>
<p>Even before the bushfires hit, we were working on supplementary food to help recover the critically endangered <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-mountain-pygmy-possum-13149">mountain pygmy-possum</a>. They are seriously threatened by climate change, historic habitat destruction and more frequent intense fires.</p>
<p>Just months ago we landed on a recipe for Bogong Bikkies, nutritionally suitable baked biscuits that have the consistency of an ANZAC biscuit, taste a bit like a nutty gym protein bar and smell a little like Cheds crackers.</p>
<p>We never imagined our work would be needed so quickly – or urgently – but now our Bogong Bikkies are being deployed across the boulder fields of NSW, providing vital supplementary food to native species such as pygmy-possums, native bush rats and dusky antechinus.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-season-in-hell-bushfires-push-at-least-20-threatened-species-closer-to-extinction-129533">A season in hell: bushfires push at least 20 threatened species closer to extinction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Hungry, hungry possums</h2>
<p>Mountain pygmy-possums are the only Australian marsupial that hibernate every winter under snow, making it essential they build fat reserves before their long winter sleep. The main food source during their spring/summer breeding season is the <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/wr17186">migratory bogong moth</a>.</p>
<p>However in 2017 and 2018 the billions of expected bogong moths <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/25/decline-in-bogong-moth-numbers-leaves-pygmy-mountain-possums-starving">largely failed to arrive</a>, leaving many females underweight and unable to produce enough milk for their young. Due to a lack of food, 50-95% of females in monitored Victorian locations <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-can-help-track-4-billion-bogong-moths-with-your-smartphone-and-save-pygmy-possums-from-extinction-123512">lost their entire litters</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/you-can-help-track-4-billion-bogong-moths-with-your-smartphone-and-save-pygmy-possums-from-extinction-123512">You can help track 4 billion bogong moths with your smartphone – and save pygmy possums from extinction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In response, Zoos Victoria’s Healesville Sanctuary <a href="https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/441559/MPP-Operational-Contingency-Plan-2019-20.pdf">proposed creating</a> a new supplementary food that could be used in the wild to support possums and their young until moth numbers recover.</p>
<p>Ten years ago, we analysed bogong moths to determine the fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals required for a suitable breeding diet for possums in our <a href="https://www.zoo.org.au/media/3051/mountain-pygmy-possum.pdf">captive breeding program</a>.</p>
<p>While we have a successful diet for the possums in our care that includes nuts, insects, vegetables and a specially developed “bogong moth substitute”, the blend has the consistency of a soft caramel (or bogong moth abdomen) – not suitable for feeding in the wild. We needed a shelf-stable, long-lasting, nutritionally suitable food that could feed remote wild populations.</p>
<h2>That’s the way the cookie crumbles</h2>
<p>Throughout 2019, using our existing analyses of bogong moths, we worked with world experts in veterinary nutrition to develop Bogong Bikkies – nutritionally suitable baked biscuits for mountain pygmy-possums, and other species that live alongside them. We collaborated with Australian wildlife diet experts, Wombaroo, to have our new product commercially developed.</p>
<p>We then trialled the bikkies with the possums in our care at Healesville Sanctuary, so we could monitor whether the food was palatable or caused any health issues. It was a huge success. The possums liked the food, but happily ate other food too. This was exactly what we wanted: something that was completely safe and would be readily accepted, but not chosen over natural food sources.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313479/original/file-20200204-41541-1bpzzs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313479/original/file-20200204-41541-1bpzzs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313479/original/file-20200204-41541-1bpzzs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313479/original/file-20200204-41541-1bpzzs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313479/original/file-20200204-41541-1bpzzs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313479/original/file-20200204-41541-1bpzzs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313479/original/file-20200204-41541-1bpzzs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313479/original/file-20200204-41541-1bpzzs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mountain Pygmy-possum mum and joeys.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tim Bawden/Zoos Victoria.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once satisfied our captive trials were a success, we had to find the best way to deliver food safely to possums in boulder fields in the wild. This meant buying or making 12 different feeder prototypes. Our local hardware store knew us all by name! We tested four feeders, most of which were designed and built on-site, and chose the most successful three for trials in the wild.</p>
<p>Working with Parks Victoria and the Victorian <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery-plans/mountain-pygmy-possum">Mountain Pygmy-possum Recovery Team</a>, we tested these three feeders at 20 stations deep in the Alpine National Park, monitored with remote infrared cameras.</p>
<p>Over the last few months, Zoos Victoria and Parks Victoria staff have been refilling feeders, changing camera batteries and analysing hundreds of thousands of images and videos. After months of work, watching wild mountain pygmy-possums, native bush rats and dusky antechinus visiting our feeders and eating the food was a triumph.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313482/original/file-20200204-41476-1a5ysli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313482/original/file-20200204-41476-1a5ysli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313482/original/file-20200204-41476-1a5ysli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313482/original/file-20200204-41476-1a5ysli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313482/original/file-20200204-41476-1a5ysli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313482/original/file-20200204-41476-1a5ysli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313482/original/file-20200204-41476-1a5ysli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313482/original/file-20200204-41476-1a5ysli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A possum feeder in the wild.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Zoos Victoria</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A raging inferno</h2>
<p>Halfway through our research, some of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/bushfires-1377">worst bushfires ever seen in Australia</a> left habitats destroyed and our precious wildlife dead or starving. Victoria mountain pygmy-possum populations have so far not been directly impacted by fires this season, but the populations of northern Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, were hard hit.</p>
<p>While the habitat was destroyed, we hoped some possums had survived deep in the boulder fields, as they have with <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/14b32262-159e-4462-97fe-f13152aaa461/files/national-recovery-plan-mountain-pygmy-possum.pdf">previous fires</a>. But surviving the initial fire is no help, if their environment and food sources have been so devastated that they can’t gain enough weight to hibernate before winter’s snow.</p>
<p>Within days of the January fires, we had packaged up our most successful feeder type, examples of our cooked bikkies, our best recipe and 30kg of Bogong Bikkie mix, and rushed it urgently to our NSW partners.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313613/original/file-20200204-41490-1telmpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313613/original/file-20200204-41490-1telmpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313613/original/file-20200204-41490-1telmpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313613/original/file-20200204-41490-1telmpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313613/original/file-20200204-41490-1telmpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313613/original/file-20200204-41490-1telmpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313613/original/file-20200204-41490-1telmpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313613/original/file-20200204-41490-1telmpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An infrared image showing a wild mountain pygmy-possum eating a Bogong Bikkie from a feeder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Zoos Victoria</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Teams from the NSW government’s Saving Our Species and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service have now built and deployed 62 feeders and water stations in six boulder fields, baked batches of bikkies and started <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-18/wildlife-animals-risk-of-starving-to-death-unless-food-dropped/11879630">emergency feeding</a>. Camera data <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/after-the-firestorm-hopes-rise-for-mountain-pygmy-possum-s-revival-20200212-p53zzi.html">show</a> mountain pygmy-possums are visiting feeders and water stations at all of the sites on which they have been deployed. Other small mammals, including bush rats, dusky antechinus, black rock skinks and even a mountain brushtail possum and its joey are also coming to the stations. </p>
<p>We’re thankful to have the food developed and research ready to assist. It is important to note, though, that such supplementary feeding is very intensive, and only appropriate for native species facing emergency situations, such as catastrophic fires.</p>
<p>If these bushfires teach us nothing else, it is the value of preparation, hard work and early funding to develop a range of conservation tools. </p>
<p>While we should all hope for the best, we must plan for the worst.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was co-authored Dr Kim Miller, Life Sciences Manager, Conservation and Research, at Healesville Sanctuary, Zoos Victoria, Dr Leanne Wicker, Senior Veterinarian at Healesville Sanctuary, Zoos Victoria, and Dr Linda Broome, Senior Threatened Species Officer, Biodiversity and Conservation (South East Branch), NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE). The authors acknowledge the team from Biodiversity and Conservation (South East Branch) of the NSW DPIE for their work protecting the mountain pygmy-possum.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was corrected to clarify the impact on the mountain pygmy-possum populations of northern Kosciuszko National Park.</em></p>
<p><em>This article was updated on February 18 to add detail about NSW’s feeding results and to add a co-author.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131045/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marissa Parrott works for Zoos Victoria, a not-for-profit zoo-based conservation organisation. She is a member of the Victorian Mountain Pygmy-Possum State Recovery Team. She receives no additional payment or funding from outside Zoos Victoria for any work related to threatened species.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi Davis works for Parks Victoria, a statutory authority established under the Parks Victoria Act 2018 (Vic) to manage parks, reserves and other public land. Funding for this work was provided by Zoos Victoria, Parks Victoria and the NSW Government’s Saving Our Species program.</span></em></p>
The main food for the mountain pygmy-possum’s spring/summer breeding season is the migratory bogong moth, but in 2017 and 2018 billions of bogong moths failed to arrive. Then the bushfires did.
Marissa Parrott, Reproductive Biologist, Wildlife Conservation & Science, Zoos Victoria, and Honorary Research Associate, BioSciences, The University of Melbourne
Naomi Ezra Davis, Environmental Scientist - Fauna, Parks Victoria; Honorary Fellow, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/107371
2018-11-23T10:24:09Z
2018-11-23T10:24:09Z
Captive breeding has a dark side – as disturbing Czech discovery of trafficked tiger body parts highlights
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246828/original/file-20181122-182037-g6tveo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout Czech Customs Authority</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/19/gruesome-discovery-of-czech-tiger-farm-exposes-illegal-trade-in-heart-of-europe?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Othe">rotting remains</a> of a number of tigers, lions and cougars were recently discovered in a raid on a house in Prague. This disturbing find was the culmination of a five-year investigation that revealed an illegal trade in exotic wildlife blooming in the heart of Europe.</p>
<p>Czech authorities managed to identify the main figures behind an international crime ring who had been processing and selling wild cat parts as traditional Chinese medicine. Claws, teeth, bones, skin and extracts from their bodies known as “tiger wine” or “broth” were smuggled to Asia or used to supply the domestic demand in tiger products. The slaughtered tigers came from the country’s largest private breeding facility for lions and tigers – where, officially, these protected wildcats are bred for circuses, roadside attractions and petting zoos.</p>
<p>This story provides a stark reminder of the cruelty engendered by captive breeding. Even zoos heralded as the beacons of endangered species conservation play a controversial part in this story. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246829/original/file-20181122-182037-pykxvu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A bath in the house raided by Czech authorities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout Czech Customs Authority</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Captive tigers</h2>
<p>With only <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/world/asia/wild-tiger-numbers-are-rising-wildlife-groups-say.html">3,900</a> left in the wild, the tiger family (<em>Panthera tigris</em>) is the only big cat listed as <a href="https://www.iucn.org/resources/conservation-tools/iucn-red-list-threatened-species">endangered</a>, with two subspecies critically endangered. The captive population, meanwhile, is abundant. </p>
<p>In 2014, the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/more-tigers-in-american-backyards-than-in-the-wild">WWF</a> alerted us to the alarming news that there are “more tigers living in American backyards than in the wild”. The organisation called on the US government to introduce a ban on private ownership of big cats. No such federal bill has been passed since, but <a href="https://bigcatrescue.org/state-laws-exotic-cats/">21 states</a> ban all dangerous exotic pets, while the rest allow certain species or require permits. Out of 5,000 captive tigers in the US alone, only 350 are held in zoos and other facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The <a href="http://www.stolenwildlife.org/druhy.html">estimated</a> number of tigers in the Czech Republic, meanwhile, is 390, only 39 of which are kept in zoos. </p>
<p>A growing number of cities around the world close their gates for <a href="https://bigcatrescue.org/big-cat-bans-enacted/">circuses</a> that use wild animals. According to <a href="http://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/wp-content/uploads/Eurogroup-for-Animals-Exotic-Pet-Report-FINAL.pdf">Czech law</a>, captive breeding of big cats requires special permits, while the environmental inspectorate records each tiger’s birth, sale or death. Following the discovery of the tiger slaughterhouse in Prague, the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums issued a <a href="https://www.eaza.net/assets/Uploads/EAZA-Documents-Other/2018-EAZA-Position-Statement-on-tiger-trade.pdf">statement</a> urging authorities to take immediate action in ensuring that all captive tigers serve noncommercial purposes such as research, education and conservation breeding.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246830/original/file-20181122-182071-vlbfr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bones discovered by Czech authorities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout Czech Customs Authority</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Regal wildcats</h2>
<p>The idea of protecting endangered species through captive breeding in zoos is relatively new, but has a much longer and darker history. </p>
<p>Exotic animals first entered private collections in Europe as diplomatic gifts. Tigers were particularly highly priced in royal and aristocratic menageries as dangerous predators were seen to embody the political and physical prowess of their owners. Wild cats were also exhibited for popular audiences in circuses and other travelling shows. The intensive traffic in wildlife was largely facilitated by colonial expansion. That is why European port cities, as the centres for colonial commerce, were the first to open public zoos.</p>
<p>In the aftermath of decolonisation and the introduction of the <a href="https://www.cites.org/">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species</a> in 1973, the lucrative business of capturing and trading exotic animals came to an end. Faced with the termination of a supply of specimens caught in the wild, zoological parks resorted to captive breeding. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246843/original/file-20181122-182065-c1rpfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hunting for tigers, Thomas Williamson & Samuel Howitt, 1808.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_hunting#/media/File:ElephantbackTigerHunt.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They did so, on the one hand to ensure they retained rare species in their collections and, on the other hand, to redirect their mission: from entertainment towards conservation. Devising so-called “Species Survival Plans”, accredited zoos have collaborated since 1981 to breed endangered species and manage all captive individuals of every species as one population to ensure genetic diversity. </p>
<p>But even after this period, research, education and conservation did not always drive captive breeding in zoos. Even non-commercial breeding does not always prioritise animal welfare. </p>
<h2>White tigers</h2>
<p>Many zoos, for example, are still devoted to breeding white tigers. Only two years ago the Czech <a href="https://www.zooliberec.cz/tygr-indicky-bila-forma.html">Liberec Zoo</a> celebrated the birth of two white cubs, that were transferred to Pont-Scorff Zoo in France in July this year. This rare variation of the Bengal tiger has distinctive white fur colouring with pale chocolate stripes and mesmerising blue eyes. The extraordinary coating results from a genetic mutation, which as a recessive trait is expressed only if both parents carry the mutation.</p>
<p>This inclined the zoos to practice inbreeding, often pairing off siblings in hope for a white-furred offspring. All 250 white tigers in captivity today <a href="https://zoostoriesblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/the-dynasty-of-enchanters-white-tigers-in-captivity/">are related</a>, having a common ancestor captured in 1951 – the wild-caught cub named Mohan that was the pride of Maharaja of Rewa, an Indian royalty who was determined to breed these rare wild cats. After several failed attempts, in 1957 the first white cubs were born in India from the union of Mohan and his daughter Radha. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246842/original/file-20181122-182047-1kgqd2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Captive tigers in the Czech Republic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout Czech Customs Authority</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1960, the <a href="https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/where-have-all-white-tigers-gone">Smithsonian Institution</a> procured one of the female cubs for $10,000. Today she would be worth eight times more. While the royal ancestry of this exotic feline vividly stimulated the imagination of American zoogoers, her main task at the National Zoo was to produce more offspring of her kind. The demand for these extremely rare animals often justifies pairing off closely related tigers, even though inbred animals are prone to acquiring crippling defects including shortened legs, kidney problems and crossed eyes, as well as psychological issues. </p>
<h2>Tinder tigers</h2>
<p>The tigers slaughtered in the Czech Republic were not bred in zoos but in a private facility, yet their story should put captive breeding in general into question. </p>
<p>Today, tigers are bred outside of their natural habitats for a variety of reasons: for zoos, exhibitions, circuses performances or as pets. Tiger cubs are often displayed in petting zoos and subjected to the cruel practice of declawing. Adult tigers are drugged to pose in photos. People still see these extremely dangerous carnivores as proxies for luxury and sexiness.</p>
<p>But hopefully attitudes are changing. In 2017, <a href="https://blog.gotinder.com/take-down-the-tiger-selfies/">Tinder</a> launched a campaign to encourage its users to stop posting “tiger selfies”. And most recently, due to public pressure, China was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-46190599">forced to reinstate</a> a <a href="http://english.gov.cn/policies/latest_releases/2018/10/29/content_281476367121088.htm">newly lifted ban</a> on using tiger bone and rhino horn in medicine.</p>
<p>Of course we need to pay attention to the conservation of today’s wild tigers threatened by habitat loss due to human activity, poaching, loss of prey and the swelling human-wildlife conflicts. But more attention should be paid to the plight of the enormous captive population of tigers across the world.</p>
<p><em>This article was updated on November 26 to correct the stated number of captive tigers in the US.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107371/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marianna Szczygielska does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The slaughtered tigers were not bred in zoos, yet their story should put captive breeding in general into question.
Marianna Szczygielska, Postdoctoral Fellow, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/102127
2018-08-24T13:52:40Z
2018-08-24T13:52:40Z
How London Zoo’s big ‘weigh in’ could help conservation in the wild
<p>Every August, London Zoo weighs and measures every one of its 19,000 animals. It’s a great PR move for the zoo, guaranteeing lots of <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/thousands-of-animals-brought-together-for-london-zoos-annual-weighin-a3918886.html">friendly coverage</a> of photogenic animals on scales or next to tape measures, at a time when many politicians and journalists have clocked off for the summer.</p>
<p>But, as a wildlife conservation researcher and a former zookeeper, I have seen exactly how these sorts of annual “weigh-ins” also helped the animals themselves. Recording the weights and size of animals in a zoo directly benefits their welfare, and could potentially help in the global conservation of their wild counterparts.</p>
<p>Monitoring the health of the animals in your charge is a large part of what being a keeper is all about. You do this by getting to know the individuals and noting any changes in their behaviour each day as you would your own pet. You even assess their droppings, looking at colour and solidity – which made for interesting conversation on morning coffee breaks. </p>
<p>Although these observations are useful, they can be a bit subjective. By taking measurements such as weight you immediately have something a bit more concrete that can be used to evaluate well-being and review the effectiveness of husbandry methods. Also, giving the correct dosage of food supplements or medicines often requires you to know the weight of an animal.</p>
<h2>How to weigh a zoo animal</h2>
<p>Small creatures like snakes or lizards can be put into a pillow case and weighed using hanging scales. A trained handler can even hold venomous snake species such as a <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/b/black-mamba/">black mamba</a> against a tape measure. </p>
<p>However larger mammals are a bit trickier. Whether it is a lemur or rhino, it often involves time, effort and patience to train one to walk onto a set of scales. Usually there is some form of food reward to help entice them onto the scales in the first place and then to keep them stationary long enough for a reading. For the most dangerous mammals of all, like the African leopards I worked with, zookeepers have to either target train them with food (using a stick with meat on the end) or wait until there is a reason to sedate them then weigh them.</p>
<p>If you think this sounds difficult, it is nothing compared to the challenges faced out in the wild. There, this kind of information is usually only gathered when the species is specifically being studied and only then typically when the animal is under sedation for research purposes (for instance to fit a GPS tracking collar). </p>
<p>Often the species that are being studied have been officially assessed as threatened with extinction, based on population numbers and trends, types of threat and conservation effort. Although populations need to be monitored directly over time to check for increases or decreases, they can also be modelled based on basic information such as weight, life expectancy and breeding rates to give an idea of what the population is likely to do under different circumstances.</p>
<p>In the region of 25% of known animals<a href="http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/the_barometer_of_life_article.pdf">have been classified</a>, however for all taxa (mammals, reptiles, birds and so on) there are species that have not been classified due to insufficient data. Many of these fall into the less “charismatic” categories such as amphibians, crustaceans or fish. For example it is thought 23% of assessed amphibians <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/about/summary-statistics">have not been classified</a> while up to half of amphibian species are potentially threatened with extinction. There are even gaps in our knowledge of mammals, 14% of which have not been classified. </p>
<p>How can scientists fill in those gaps? I attended a conference recently where a speaker was discussing the potential for utilising the data gathered by zoos to produce models for the species with missing data and assess how vulnerable they might be to climate change, habitat loss and other threats. </p>
<p>And zoos have a lot of data: of all the thousands of threatened land vertebrate species – everything from tigers or lemurs to <a href="http://tatzoo.squarespace.com/endangered-species/">colourful snakes</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/seven-new-species-of-miniature-frogs-discovered-in-threatened-brazilian-cloud-forest-42834">tiny frogs</a> – around <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/331/6023/1390">one in seven</a> have some individuals held in captivity somewhere. Zoos really can fill an important role and have an impact.</p>
<p>This knowledge in turn could then be used to highlight where conservation efforts and often limited funding should be focused, to increase the survival chances of more threatened species out in the wild.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102127/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tara Pirie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Data collected by zoos can help scientists model the populations of endangered species.
Tara Pirie, Postdoctoral Researcher, People and Wildlife Research Group, University of Reading
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/96272
2018-05-13T20:30:20Z
2018-05-13T20:30:20Z
Is that selfie really worth it? Why face time with wild animals is a bad idea
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218555/original/file-20180511-4803-1ryd77f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kangaroos probably don't enjoy social media photos as much as we do.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The phenomenon of kangaroo selfies hit the headlines earlier this month, when several tourists were injured while feeding wild kangaroos in Lake Macquarie, north of Sydney. They may have wanted a memorable holiday snap, but ended up with rather more than they bargained for.</p>
<p>One <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-02/agro-kangaroos-addicted-to-carrots-attack-tourists/9716612">news report</a> described how the “cute and cuddly” animals had begun “viciously attacking people”. </p>
<p>Is that really fair on the kangaroos? Of all the adjectives you could use to describe an animal that is territorial, fiercely maternal and has large claws, “cuddly” is pretty far down the list.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tinders-tiger-selfies-show-the-perils-of-wildlife-close-encounters-30083">Tinder's tiger selfies show the perils of wildlife close encounters</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The problem with that description of the incident is that it suggests that the kangaroos were to blame for the injuries. In reality, it was the fault of the people getting too close and offering them the wrong food. Having become so used to being handed carrots, we can hardly blame the kangaroos for being “hopped up”, as the news coverage punningly put it.</p>
<p>In India, another recent case ended in tragedy when a man attempted to take a selfie with a <a href="http://www.fox13news.com/news/man-tries-to-take-selfie-with-bear-bear-kills-him">bear</a>. The man reportedly turned his back on the bear and was then mauled to death.</p>
<h2>Selfie society</h2>
<p>The growing danger of animal selfies, and of feeding wild animals, is well documented. People have been killed and injured by tigers, such as in the case of a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-503529/Tigers-maul-tourist-death-tries-photo-zoo-cage-bars.html">zoo visitor in India who climbed over a safety barrier</a> in search of a better photo. Wild long-tailed macaques at Bali’s Uluwatu Temple have got so used to being fed that they <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2132748-monkey-mafia-steal-your-stuff-then-sell-it-back-for-a-cracker/">steal tourists’ valuables</a> and only drop them when given snacks.</p>
<p>A 2016 <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article/23/2/tav026/2580644">study</a> in the Journal of Travel Medicine recommended that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>…scenarios where selfies should be avoided include photographs taken from a height, on a bridge, in the vicinity of vehicular traffic, during thunderstorms, at sporting events, and where wild animals are in the background.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Interacting with wild animals isn’t just dangerous for people. It can be bad news for the animals too. A 2017 <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-55574-4_14">study</a> looked specifically at kangaroos who are exposed to wildlife tours. It concluded that both wild and captive kangaroos can be stressed by humans approaching them closely, and that the presence of tourists may drive them away from feeding, breeding or resting areas. It also noted that the potential knock-on effects for kangaroo population numbers are still unknown. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517701000802">review in the journal Tourism Management</a>, written after a nine-year-old boy was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/01/patrickbarkham">killed by dingoes on Queensland’s Fraser Island in 2001</a>, confirmed that routinely feeding wild animals can alter their behaviour patterns and population levels. There was no suggestion that the boy was engaging in risky behaviour, but rather that the dingoes had become dangerously habituated to human presence, as a result of previous feeding by tourists and easy access to campsite food. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218557/original/file-20180511-34024-d0udq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218557/original/file-20180511-34024-d0udq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218557/original/file-20180511-34024-d0udq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218557/original/file-20180511-34024-d0udq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218557/original/file-20180511-34024-d0udq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218557/original/file-20180511-34024-d0udq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218557/original/file-20180511-34024-d0udq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218557/original/file-20180511-34024-d0udq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Advice to stay a safe distance from wild animals is all too often ignored.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You might shake your head in disbelief at the idea of turning your back on a wild bear in search of the perfect selfie. But how many of you have taken a photo with an animal and posted it on social media? </p>
<p>These photographs, even if they are of habituated animals in urban areas or in a zoo, can endanger wild animals and cause them undue stress (as discussed in a previous <a href="https://theconversation.com/even-scientists-take-selfies-with-wild-animals-heres-why-they-shouldnt-61252">article</a>). Taking a selfie of a zoo animal can leave the impression that kangaroos, koalas and other “fluffy” animals act like this in the wild. People who don’t know about the normal behaviour of these animals may therefore think that these animals are OK to approach in the wild. This could explain why so many tourists still consider it safe to approach wild kangaroos.</p>
<p>While some wild animals are undoubtedly cute, we should be sensible enough not to expect them to be cuddly. We need to respect wild animals’ behaviour and territories, so as to avoid injury and live in harmony.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/even-scientists-take-selfies-with-wild-animals-heres-why-they-shouldnt-61252">Even scientists take selfies with wild animals. Here's why they shouldn't.</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Zoos in Australia generally house hand-reared animals, many of which are used to being fed and petted by people in a safe and monitored environment. The animals are given carefully selected diets, as well as places to which they can retreat if they have had enough interaction. All of this helps to minimise the stress on the animals and the risk to people. And of course, there is the broader point that zoo animals deserve respect and are not just cuddly toys.</p>
<p>Just because you can pat and feed a kangaroo at a zoo, does not mean you can do it elsewhere. Zoos can play their part by promoting advice about safe behaviour around wild animals elsewhere. </p>
<p>So next time you’re lucky enough to see kangaroos or another animal in the wild, by all means take a photo - if you can do it from a safe distance. And ask yourself whether you really need to be in it too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96272/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Teare Ada Lambert does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Here’s some advice on taking selfies with wild animals: don’t. It’s not fun for the animal, and can have serious knock-on effects for their health. And you could be injured (or worse).
Kathryn Teare Ada Lambert, Adjunct Lecturer/ Ecologist, University of New England
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/87543
2017-11-15T17:31:03Z
2017-11-15T17:31:03Z
Fact Check: was it right to kill Lilith the escaped lynx?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194854/original/file-20171115-19841-1p4u3jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lynx on the loose.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>The safety of the public was paramount and therefore once the lynx had strayed over to a populated area of the community it was necessary to act decisively.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Statement from <a href="http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/English/Resident/News/Pages/Update-on-the-Lynx-.aspx">Ceredigion County Council</a> on October 10, 2017.</strong></p>
<p>An escaped lynx was recently destroyed by experts working on behalf of Ceredigion County Council in Wales after attempts to recapture it failed. Some people have <a href="http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/article.cfm?id=117494&headline=Killing%20of%20escaped%20lynx%20has%20sparked%20outrage&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2017">responded angrily</a>, arguing that officials should have tranquilised the animal rather than killing it. <a href="http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/English/Resident/News/Pages/Update-on-the-escaped-Lynx.aspx">The council claimed</a> it had done all it could and was left with no other option. So was there a way Lilith the lynx could have been saved?</p>
<p>Zoo animals all receive a danger category for their potential to cause serious harm. Animals such as tigers, lions, elephants, and lynx are classed as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69596/standards-of-zoo-practice.pdf">Category 1</a>, the most dangerous animals, due to their natural behaviour and predatory way of life. Animals which may cause slight harm or injury are classified as Category 2, and those which are no threat to the public get classed as Category 3.</p>
<p>Within the UK, zoos are licenced by <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/zoo-licensing-act-1981-guide-to-the-act-s-provisions">local authorities</a>, who conduct inspections on a regular basis to ensure the health and safety of the animals, staff and the public that visit them. Safety from the animal enclosure side of things is always viewed to reduce the likelihood of the public getting in, and the animals getting out.</p>
<p>But zoos are home to some incredibly smart animals which are able to notice small gaps in the gates and doorways or when electric fencing may not be working efficiently. More often than not, animals that manage to escape their enclosures have noticed these holes before the keepers. </p>
<p>Zoos practice <a href="https://www.aazk.org/wp-content/uploads/Animal-Escape-Preparedness.pdf">animal escape drills</a> at least twice a year and in the event of an animal escape from its enclosure, these drills are put into practice and ensure the safety of every visitor and member of staff on site.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HSQklvzNNDY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Every effort is usually made to recapture the animal but of course, it very much depends on the species. An animal such as a penguin for example would likely follow a trail of fish back into its enclosure and would not cause too much disruption. Some animals actually get quite scared when they realise that they are outside of their home and in a world that they do not know and make their own way back without much encouragement at all. </p>
<p>In the recent case of the lynx from <a href="https://www.borthzoo.co.uk/">Borth Wild Animal Kingdom</a>, the animal not only managed to escape its enclosure, but the perimeter grounds of the zoo, too, which placed a lot more public at risk and with little control over the situation. The local authorities and police were notified and the zoo made every effort to recapture the lynx, reportedly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/07/lillith-the-lynx-blamed-for-seven-sheep-deaths-in-north-wales">including using traps</a> and following it with a drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera.</p>
<p>Animal tranquilisation is always discussed but with any animal, including the lynx, there is no way of telling how the animal may react to this and if it may make the animal more aggressive or react in a way that is not expected. This could cause further harm and situations that are unable to be prepared for. The decision was finally made to humanely destroy the animal, as the potential risk to the public was too great. In this situation, there are not many options, and human life and safety has to be the highest priority.</p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>The council and local police made the right call. Human life has to come first. Every effort had been made to recapture the animal, and there was nothing more that could have been done. </p>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p><strong>Dr Paul Rees, Senior Lecturer in Wildlife, University of Salford</strong></p>
<p>The author of this fact check is right. The owners of Borth Wild Animal Kingdom had a legal obligation to prevent the escape of the lynx under the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/37">Zoo Licensing Act 1981</a> and the <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/zoos/index_en.htm">EU Zoos Directive</a>. They failed to do this and then failed to recapture her. The local authority had no choice but to shoot the animal.</p>
<p>What’s more, releasing or allowing a non-native species into the wild is an offence under <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69/section/14">section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981</a>. This law protects our native biodiversity.</p>
<p>Lynx are classified in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secretary-of-state-s-standards-of-modern-zoo-practice">Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice</a> as category 1 (greater risk), that is “likely to cause serious injury or be a serious threat to life”. Although reports of attacks on humans by lynx appear to be rare, a pet lynx was reported to have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/02/atlanta-woman-hospitalised-siberian-lynx">attacked a woman</a> who was feeding it in Atlanta in 2014.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87543/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Ceredigion County Council in Wales claims it had no choice. What do the experts say?
Samantha Ward, Lecturer Zoo Animal Biology, Nottingham Trent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/86668
2017-11-13T23:16:07Z
2017-11-13T23:16:07Z
Science in the home boosts children’s academic success
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194201/original/file-20171110-29364-495xvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research shows that when parents engage in simple science projects with their kids at home, it boosts their learning in school. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Did you know that children spend just 14 per cent of their waking time between Kindergarten and the end of Grade 12 in school? </p>
<p>Given this startling statistic, it comes as no surprise that much of children’s learning happens “out there” — in the playground, during extracurricular activities, at a museum, on a walk, via the media, and, perhaps most importantly, at home.</p>
<p>I am the director of the Education Community Outreach Centre at Queen’s University and coordinator of Science Rendezvous Kingston. Science Rendezvous is Canada’s largest pop-up science, technology and engineering and mathematics (STEM) festival. I also develop mathematics content for two educational children’s programs, <em>The Prime Radicals</em> and <em>mathXplosion</em>. I have developed two provincial toolkits for parents about <a href="http://www.ontariodirectors.ca/parent_engagement-math/en/">inspiring children to learn, love</a> and <a href="http://www.mathpathontario.ca">choose math</a> and I am the “math talk” consultant for <em>MathStoryTime</em>.</p>
<p>I have worked for decades to engage parents because I believe that families and schools have much to learn from and share with each other. Schools have formal knowledge of teaching and learning, curriculum, assessment and evaluation. And parents know their children’s motivations, skills and interests.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194200/original/file-20171110-29358-1sjewqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194200/original/file-20171110-29358-1sjewqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194200/original/file-20171110-29358-1sjewqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194200/original/file-20171110-29358-1sjewqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194200/original/file-20171110-29358-1sjewqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194200/original/file-20171110-29358-1sjewqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194200/original/file-20171110-29358-1sjewqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Science at home doesn’t need to be daunting. It can be as simple as planting seeds with a child, or helping them collect leaves and bugs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The research also shows that informal environments including the home — also called out-of-school-time [OST] settings — play an important role in promoting STEM learning. They do this by <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/01443410903353302">sparking student interest</a> and <a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12190/learning-science-in-informal-environments-people-places-and-pursuits">providing opportunities to broaden and deepen engagement in STEM content</a>.</p>
<h2>The benefits of science at home</h2>
<p>Empirical evidence clearly suggests that OST experiences <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/09500690701494084">strengthen and enrich school STEM learning</a> by <a href="http://www.informalscience.org/sites/default/files/MakingScienceMatter.pdf">reinforcing scientific concepts and practices</a> introduced during the school day. These experiences can be in museums, after-school programs, science and technology centres, libraries, aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens and at the kitchen table.</p>
<p>OST experiences also promote an appreciation for, and interest in, the pursuit of STEM in school and in daily life. They help learners understand the daily relevance of science to their lives, the depth and breadth of science as a field of inquiry, and <a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12614/surrounded-by-science-learning-science-in-informal-environments">what it might be like to choose to do science in the world</a>, either as a professional or a citizen scientist.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194202/original/file-20171110-29374-1ip24oi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194202/original/file-20171110-29374-1ip24oi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194202/original/file-20171110-29374-1ip24oi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194202/original/file-20171110-29374-1ip24oi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194202/original/file-20171110-29374-1ip24oi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194202/original/file-20171110-29374-1ip24oi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194202/original/file-20171110-29374-1ip24oi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is no surprise then, that informal science education researchers and educators are <a href="http://www.nsta.org/about/positions/parents.aspx">actively reaching out to parents</a>, asking them to <a href="http://www.letstalkscience.ca/About-Us/Research-and-Publications">enthusiastically encourage and support</a> children’s science learning at home, in school, and through their communities.</p>
<h2>Any parent can be a STEM mentor</h2>
<p>Parents are their children’s first and most important teachers. Their values, beliefs and actions have <a href="http://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009048817385">enormous influence on their child’s educational decision-making and achievement</a>. When parents convey an interest and excitement for STEM subjects, children <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0042085905274540">benefit attitudinally and academically</a>. </p>
<p>When parents make it clear that they value STEM subjects and believe it is important to study them, they positively influence the way their child views these subjects and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615592630">support their child’s academic success in those areas</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194203/original/file-20171110-29328-18urtq5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194203/original/file-20171110-29328-18urtq5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194203/original/file-20171110-29328-18urtq5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194203/original/file-20171110-29328-18urtq5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194203/original/file-20171110-29328-18urtq5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194203/original/file-20171110-29328-18urtq5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194203/original/file-20171110-29328-18urtq5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A mother supporting her daughter at Science Rendezvous Kingston 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Garrett Elliott)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Informal STEM learning at home is about parents and children exploring science in fun, hands-on ways outside of class. Brief, high-quality parent-child interactions about STEM can make a profound difference to how children perceive STEM subjects and succeed in them academically. </p>
<p>One study, for example, showed that when caregivers used a mobile app to bring a little bit of math into the home, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac7427">their elementary school children showed improved math skills within months</a>. Improvements were most dramatic in families where the caregivers reported themselves to be anxious about math.</p>
<h2>Books and leaves and bugs</h2>
<p>When parents actively participate in kitchen-sink experiments, they become STEM mentors. When parents become partners by contributing specimens to a child’s leaf or bug collection and then go a step farther by helping their child to categorize those treasures with the help of an illustrated website, they are modelling what scientists do. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194205/original/file-20171110-29328-1r52ubx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194205/original/file-20171110-29328-1r52ubx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194205/original/file-20171110-29328-1r52ubx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194205/original/file-20171110-29328-1r52ubx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194205/original/file-20171110-29328-1r52ubx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194205/original/file-20171110-29328-1r52ubx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194205/original/file-20171110-29328-1r52ubx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When parents curl up with their children to read a science book together, such as <em>The Way Things Work</em> by David Macaulay, and then dig out the can opener to take a closer look, they are modelling learning. </p>
<p>When families watch age-appropriate television together — like <a href="http://pbskids.org/sid/">Sid the Science Kid</a>, <a href="https://projectmc2.mgae.com/">Project Mc²</a> or <a href="http://www.pbs.org/show/nova/">NOVA</a> — parents are encouraging connections among STEM topics, everyday life, career possibilities and scientific literacy through their attitudes and actions.</p>
<p>Here are two very simple experiments that can be done at home, using everyday household items.</p>
<h2><em>Experiment 1: Rolling, Rolling, Rolling</em></h2>
<p><strong>You will need</strong>: An empty soda can, an inflated balloon and one head of hair.</p>
<p><strong>Directions</strong>: Place the can on its side on a flat surface (a table or a smooth floor will do). Then rub the balloon back and forth through your hair. Hold the balloon close to the can without actually touching the can.</p>
<p>You should see the can roll towards the balloon without touching it!</p>
<p><strong>Why does it work?</strong> When you rub the balloon through your hair, tiny, invisible particles called electrons (which have a negative charge) build up on the surface of the balloon, creating static electricity. They electrons have the power to pull very light objects (like the soda can) towards them.</p>
<h2><em>Experiment 2: Blowing up a balloon without blowing</em></h2>
<p><strong>You will need</strong>: A balloon, about 40 ml of water (a cup is about 250 ml so you don’t need much), a soft drink bottle, a drinking straw, the juice from a lemon (or two tablespoons of vinegar) and three teaspoons of baking soda.</p>
<p><strong>Directions</strong>: Stretch out the balloon. Pour 40 ml of water into the soft drink bottle. Add the baking soda, stirring with the straw until it is dissolved. Pour the lemon juice (or vinegar) in and quickly put the stretched balloon over the mouth of the bottle.</p>
<p>If all goes well then your balloon should inflate!</p>
<p><strong>Why does it work?</strong> Adding the lemon juice to the baking soda creates a chemical reaction. The baking soda is a base, while the lemon juice is an acid, when the two combine they create carbon dioxide gas (CO₂). The gas rises and travels up through the neck of soft drink bottle, where it is trapped inside the balloon and blows it up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86668/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lynda Colgan receives funding from SSHRC, NSERC PromoScience, CODE and Ministry of Education for the Province of Ontario.</span></em></p>
From collecting bugs to using math apps, there are many ways parents can engage in STEM activities with their kids to support their learning.
Lynda Colgan, Professor of Elementary Mathematics, Queen's University, Ontario
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/81005
2017-08-09T00:12:14Z
2017-08-09T00:12:14Z
How to save zoos? Focus on education, conservation
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181059/original/file-20170804-2386-ye153i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of my earlier memories from my childhood is visiting the Frankfurt zoo in Germany. I watched several elephants in an indoor enclosure, and while they were huge and fascinating, it also saddened me to see such magnificent animals in captivity. I also remember having straw thrown in my face by one of those elephants, although my parents dispute this.</p>
<p>Now, with my own children, we visit the Toronto Zoo with all of its animals in more naturalistic enclosures, and the many educational and conservation programs and displays. It’s a different world.</p>
<p>For many, zoos are central to some of their favourite memories as children. Seeing lions, tigers and elephants and other less familiar animals, never mind smelling them, can be a wonderful experience. </p>
<p>But the role of zoos in society has led to serious discussion about whether zoos should even exist. A strike earlier this year by workers at the Toronto Zoo had many musing about whether the zoo should re-open at all. The Toronto Star <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2017/05/18/why-bother-re-opening-toronto-zoo.html">reported that social media and emails</a> they received argued “zoos are outdated, inhumane attractions that should be closed outright, or converted to animal sanctuaries.”</p>
<p>That’s a widespread sentiment, manifested in part by the existence of organizations such as <a href="https://www.zoocheck.com">Zoocheck</a>, which acts to “promote and protect the interests and well-being of wild animals,” including those held in captivity.</p>
<h2>Zoos a thing of the past?</h2>
<p>Some of the negative perceptions of zoos may be the result of their past. The modern zoo is based on a history of colonialism in which exotic animals from faraway lands were brought back for public amusement. A particularly ugly aspect of this history occurred when Indigenous people from colonized countries were also brought to Europe and the United States for <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/features/human-zoos-a-shocking-history-of-shame-and-exploitation">display</a> at human zoos, even as late as the 1950s. </p>
<p>While the ethical questions surrounding zoos today are not as controversial, they are no less important. </p>
<p>The social contract that zoos have with society has changed. Due largely to animal welfare concerns, the general public now has a predominately negative view toward the display of animals solely for entertainment, and the traditional zoo as a menagerie is no longer considered acceptable.</p>
<p>The modern zoo must become more than a source of entertainment, and must embrace conservation, research and education as part of its mandate. For example, in its most recent <a href="http://www.torontozoo.com/ExploreTheZoo/Vision/?pg=Strategic">strategic plan</a>, the Toronto Zoo has stated one of its goals is to become a zoo-based “conservation centre of excellence.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181060/original/file-20170804-27426-m6jicl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181060/original/file-20170804-27426-m6jicl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181060/original/file-20170804-27426-m6jicl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181060/original/file-20170804-27426-m6jicl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181060/original/file-20170804-27426-m6jicl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181060/original/file-20170804-27426-m6jicl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181060/original/file-20170804-27426-m6jicl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A lion at the Toronto Zoo.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Increasingly, zoos must also now be accredited. For example, in Canada, <a href="http://caza.ca/">CAZA</a> (Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums) has an accreditation program that ensures animal welfare and promotes conservation research and outreach with the public. </p>
<p>Similar organizations exist globally, including in the United States (where the <a href="https://aza.org">AZA</a> has taken a global lead in zoo accreditation requirements) and Europe (<a href="http://www.eaza.net">EAZA</a>). While there is room for criticism about how these organizations manage their programs, it’s clear that accredited zoos are the standard to which the modern zoo must be held.</p>
<p>Modern zoos are institutions that reflect complicated and sometimes conflicting values related to entertainment, conservation and animal welfare. Modern zoos in many ways represents a paradox – they’re organizations with a mandate to support conservation and education of the public regarding wild animals and nature that also manage captive wildlife. It’s this paradox that fuels much of the criticism of zoos.</p>
<p>In the United States, where arguably this transition from menagerie to conservation organization is most advanced, zoos such as the San Diego Zoo and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., have rebranded themselves (e.g. <a href="http://www.sandiegozooglobal.org">San Diego Zoo Global</a>), highlighting their contributions to conservation, research and the training of conservation professionals. </p>
<p>In Canada, the Toronto Zoo, the Calgary Zoo and the Vancouver Aquarium probably have the most developed research and conservation programs. But they fall short relative to their American counterparts in terms of the scope of these activities, in part because of the huge disparity in financial support.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, there’s no doubt that zoos make significant contributions to conservation.</p>
<h2>Endangered species saved</h2>
<p>Captive breeding programs and the accompanying reintroductions have saved many endangered species from extinction. Currently, captive breeding by Canadian zoos is a significant component of the conservation programs for a number of species, mostly of those native to Canada (e.g. the Vancouver Island marmot, the Eastern loggerhead shrike, wood turtle, burrowing owl, and black-footed ferret). </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181080/original/file-20170805-22508-qj7t3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181080/original/file-20170805-22508-qj7t3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181080/original/file-20170805-22508-qj7t3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181080/original/file-20170805-22508-qj7t3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181080/original/file-20170805-22508-qj7t3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181080/original/file-20170805-22508-qj7t3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181080/original/file-20170805-22508-qj7t3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The endangered black-footed ferret.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These programs often stand between the extinction and the survival of these species. In addition, the people who work for conservation and education in the zoos are passionate and skilled. </p>
<p>But there remain untapped opportunities for zoos to enhance their work in conservation and research. Zoos should be pressured by the general public to ensure that the conservation and education mandate of the modern zoo is upheld.</p>
<p>Determining the efficacy of conservation and education efforts by zoos is important and will give confidence to the general public that zoos are fulfilling the evolving social contract with society. </p>
<h2>Do zoos actually do good?</h2>
<p>For example, how do we know that education programs at zoos actually work?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chantal_Barriault/publication/298792014_Visitor_Engagement_and_Learning_Behaviour_in_Science_Centres_Zoos_and_Aquaria/links/56ec0a7408aed740cbb60e95/Visitor-Engagement-and-Learning-Behaviour-in-Science-Centres-Zoos-and-Aquaria.pdf">The research of my colleague Dr. Chantal Barriault</a> (Director of the Science Communication graduate program at Laurentian University) indicates that the general public doesn’t learn as much as we would like or expect. </p>
<p>The efficacy of conservation programs should also be examined. How successful are the captive breeding and reintroduction programs? Are there ways to improve these conservation outcomes? As zoos evolve into conservation organizations, in Canada and globally, it is critical that appropriately trained conservation professionals support these efforts. </p>
<p>While the zoo community has tremendous veterinary expertise related to the care and captivity of animals, there is an opportunity for professionals trained in evolution, population genetics and other conservation-oriented disciplines to support zoo conservation. </p>
<p>Clearly, zoos are already asking these questions of themselves. The public should encourage more of this self-examination so that zoos evolve into more valuable institutions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81005/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde receives funding from NSERC for training program involving graduate students working with zoos and aquariums. The Toronto Zoo has also been a partner in other research projects.</span></em></p>
Zoos have come along way from their menagerie past. But society is increasingly demanding they become agents of conservation rather than entertainment.
Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde, Professor - Applied Evolutionary Ecology, Laurentian University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/81282
2017-07-23T11:41:56Z
2017-07-23T11:41:56Z
Cheetahs often don’t thrive in captivity. We set out to find out why
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179006/original/file-20170720-19155-ef8h4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The cheetah population almost halved since 1975 with only an estimated 7,100 left in the wild today. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cheetahs <a href="http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/01_information/1_2_species-information/species-information.htm">have been</a> tamed, used for hunting and kept in zoos in countries across Asia, Europe and Africa for centuries. However, they have never really thrived under captive conditions. </p>
<p>Between 1829-1952 there were 139 wild-caught cheetahs displayed at 47 zoological facilities. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-1090.1997.tb01186.x/full">Most of</a> these animals survived less than a year with 115 deaths and no births recorded during this period.</p>
<p>Despite <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-1090.1997.tb01186.x/full">improvements</a> in husbandry conditions in zoos and other captive facilities around the world, cheetahs continue to suffer from a number of unusual diseases that are rarely reported in other captive cats. These <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/zoo.1430120110/full">include</a> gastritis, various kidney ailments, liver abnormalities, fibrosis of the heart muscle and several ill-defined neurological disorders. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20095876">Post mortem</a> findings in cheetahs housed at captive facilities in both North America and South Africa found that over 90% had some level of gastritis when they died. Similarly, the incidence of kidney disease <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/zoo.1430120110/abstract">affected</a> more than two-thirds of captive cheetahs. In contrast, these diseases are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16244064">extremely rare</a> in wild free roaming cheetahs.</p>
<p>Any loss of cheetah is worrying given how vulnerable they are in the wild. Their numbers continue to decline. There are <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/114/3/528">an estimated</a> 7,100 in the wild today, down <a href="http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/05_library/5_3_publications/K/Kraus_&_Marker-Kraus_1992_Current_status_of_the_cheetah.pdf">from</a> 14,000 in 1975.</p>
<p>We set out to find out why so many die in captivity.</p>
<h2>The causes</h2>
<p>Several factors have been put forward. One theory that’s been around since the 1980s is that low genetic diversity of the cheetah increased their vulnerability to disease because of inbreeding depression. But captive and wild cheetahs <a href="https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/Genetic_Admixture_Inbreeding_and_Heritab.html?id=81oMnwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">have</a> comparable genetic variation. To date no heritability (degree to which characteristics are transmitted from parents to offspring) has been demonstrated for any of these diseases.</p>
<p>Other factors such as chronic stress and a lack of exercise have also been suggested.</p>
<p>More recently investigations have started to focus on what <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120903">captive cheetahs</a> are fed. </p>
<p>Wild cheetahs predominantly hunt small antelope, consuming almost the entire carcass, including the skin, bones and internal organs. Captive cheetahs are often <a href="http://www.conservalion.com/uploads/7/3/7/4/73745745/dhana_leemans_cheetah_diet_study.pdf">fed only</a> the muscle meat and some bones from domestic species such as cattle, horses, donkeys or chickens. </p>
<p><a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120903">Recent studies</a>, show that if cheetahs were fed whole carcasses, their stool consistency improved, the production of beneficial fatty acids increased and the production of some toxic compounds in the colon <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22074361">reduced</a>. But this is an expensive way to feed cheetahs in captivity.</p>
<h2>A new approach</h2>
<p>It’s become clear that what’s needed is a better understanding of cheetah metabolism. Metabolism is the sum of all the chemical processes that occur in a living organism to maintain life. When some of these processes are abnormal they often result in disease.</p>
<p>In my PhD research, which is ongoing, I turned to the emerging field of metabolomics - the scientific study of the set of small molecules present within an organism, cell, or tissue - to evaluate various small molecules in the serum and urine of cheetahs. I was looking for any differences in the molecule profiles of samples from captive versus wild cheetahs. I also wanted to see if these profiles were different to those of humans and other species. </p>
<p>We measured the concentrations of hundreds of amino acids, fatty acids, acylcarnitines, sugars and other products of metabolism.</p>
<p>In the first part of the study, we compared the fatty acid profiles of captive cheetahs to those of wild cheetahs. Abnormal fatty acids levels have been linked to a variety of disease processes in humans and other animals. </p>
<p>We <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0167608">found</a> very low levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the blood samples of wild cheetahs compared to those from cheetahs in captivity. </p>
<p>There are at least three potential reasons for this: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Wild cheetahs typically hunt and consume small antelope. These species have a high saturated and low polyunsaturated fatty acid content in their tissues. Captive cheetahs, on the other hand, tend to be fed meat from animals, like horses, donkeys and chickens, which have high polyunsaturated fatty acid content. </p></li>
<li><p>The abdominal organs and fat stores consumed by wild cheetahs are high in saturated fats and low in polyunsaturated fatty acids when compared to the fats stored in and around the muscle tissues typically fed to captive animals. </p></li>
<li><p>Wild cheetahs eat less often than those in captivity. During periods of fasting, the body uses its stored polyunsaturated fatty acids for energy, thus leading to lower levels.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Polyunsaturated fatty acids are very sensitive to oxidative damage when compared to the more stable saturated fatty acids. I suspect that cheetahs may not have effective antioxidant capabilities to cope with higher levels of damaged polyunsaturated fatty acids and this may contribute to their ill health in captivity. </p>
<p>In the second part of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28259021">the study</a>, we analysed the urine organic acids in the urine of captive cheetahs. Urine organic acids are the end-products of the breakdown of amino acids, fatty acids and sugars. </p>
<p>We found that the cheetahs were excreting a numbers of particular compounds known as phenolic acids. They form because proteins arrive in the large intestine undigested. Some amino acids from these proteins are changed by gut bacteria into potentially toxic compounds that are then absorbed into the bloodstream and either directly excreted or detoxified by the liver before being excreted. This is a problem because studies suggest that phenolic acids may have a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0167483884901420">negative effect</a> on the production of dopamine. Dopamine plays an important role in gut and kidney function.</p>
<p>We also discovered that cheetahs use a particular chemical process to detoxify the phenolic acids. Known as glycine conjugation, it requires large quantities of a different amino acid: glycine. </p>
<p>Glycine levels are low in the muscle meat diets of captive cheetahs since they don’t often get fed skin, cartilage or bones that contain much higher amounts. Together with an increased demand for glycine for detoxification, these animals are likely to end up with a deficiency of this amino acid. Glycine is very important in several body functions and a deficiency could therefore have many negative health effects.</p>
<p>Although our research hasn’t provided all the answers, it’s focused attention on several potential issues, opened up avenues for future research and provided some guidelines about what cheetahs in captivity should be fed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81282/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrian Tordiffe receives funding from the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, the University of Pretoria and North-West University. </span></em></p>
Captivity isn’t kind to cheetahs where most develop diseases that are unusual in big cats. It’s never been clear why this is the case, but understanding their metabolism might provide the answer.
Adrian Tordiffe, Veterinarian, Senior Lecturer, Researcher - Department of Paraclinical Sciences, University of Pretoria
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/78533
2017-06-14T20:08:00Z
2017-06-14T20:08:00Z
Zoos aren’t Victorian-era throwbacks: they’re important in saving species
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173739/original/file-20170614-21315-17v6lu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A meerkat at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra. The Zoo has recently announced an expansion that will double its size.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Stefan Postles</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra recently announced a new expansion that will <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-24/canberra-zoo-doubles-in-size-shows-off-baby-giraffe/8555590">double its size</a>, with open range space for large animals like white rhinos and cheetahs. </p>
<p>As well as improving visitors’ experience, the expansion is touted as a way to improve the zoo’s breeding program for threatened animals. However, zoos have received plenty of criticism over their capacity to <a href="https://asu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/do-zoos-and-aquariums-promote-attitude-change-in-visitors-a-criti">educate</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265270905_Zoos_Failing_animals_conservation_and_education">conserve</a>, or even <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/09/marius-giraffe-killed-copenhagen-zoo-protests">keep animals alive</a>.</p>
<p>But while zoos began as 19th-century menageries, they’ve come a long way since then. They’re responsible for saving <a href="https://taronga.org.au/news/2017-05-22/10-endangered-species-saved-extinction-zoos">10 iconic species worldwide</a>. Without captive breeding and reintroduction efforts, there might be no <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22697636/0">Californian Condor</a> or <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41763/0">Przewalski’s Horse</a> – the only truly wild horse – left in the wild. </p>
<p>Australian zoos form part of a vital global network that keeps our most vulnerable species alive.</p>
<h2>What is the role of zoos for conservation?</h2>
<p>Although Canberra Zoo is relatively new compared with others in Australia – Melbourne zoo, for example, was opened in 1862 – it adds to a collection of conservation-orientated establishments.</p>
<p>In Australia, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, the Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, Adelaide Zoo and Perth Zoo are all members of the <a href="http://www.waza.org/en/site/about-waza">World Association of Zoos and Aquariums</a> (WAZA). WAZA is an international organisation <a href="http://www.waza.org/en/site/conservation/conservation-strategies">that aims to guide and support zoos in their conservation missions</a>, including captive breeding, reintroductions into the wild, habitat restoration, and genetic management.</p>
<p>From the perspective of nature conservation, zoos have two major roles: educating the public about the plight of our fauna, and contributing to species recovery in the wild. </p>
<p>Conservation education is deeply embedded in the values of many zoos, especially in <a href="http://www.zooaquarium.org.au/index.php/conservation/in-situ-campaigns/">Australia</a>. The evidence for the link between zoo education and conservation outcomes is <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12263/full">mixed</a>, however zoos are, above anybody else, aimed at children. Evidence shows that after guided experiences in zoos children <a href="http://blogs.plos.org/scied/2013/03/11/zoo-education/">know more about nature</a> and are more likely to have a positive attitude towards it. Importantly, this attitude is <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015016/meta">transferable to their parents</a>. </p>
<p>Zoos contribute unique knowledge and research to support field conservation programs, and thus species recovery. In Australia, zoos are directly involved in <a href="http://www.zooaquarium.org.au/index.php/tracking-estuarine-crocodiles-in-north-queensland/">monitoring of free-ranging native fauna</a> and <a href="http://dins.arwh.org/">investigations into emerging diseases</a>. Without zoos many fundamental questions about a species’ biology could not be answered, and we would lack essential knowledge on animal handling, husbandry and care.</p>
<p>Through captive breeding, zoos can secure healthy animals that can be introduced to old or new habitats, or bolster existing wild populations. For example, a conservation manager at Taronga Zoo told me they’ve released more than 50,000 animals that were either bred on-site or rehabilitated in their wildlife hospitals (another important function of zoos). </p>
<h2>Criticisms of captive breeding programs</h2>
<p>The critics of captive breeding as a conservation strategy raise several concerns. Captive bred population can <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2005.00004.x/full">lose essential behavioural and cultural adaptations, as well as genetic diversity</a>. Large predators – cats, bears and wolves – are more likely to be affected. </p>
<p>Some species, such as frogs, do well in captivity, breed fast, and are able to be released into nature with limited or no training. For others, there is usually a concerted effort to <a href="https://www.zoo.org.au/news/stranger-danger-training-for-helmeted-honeyeaters">maintain wild behaviour</a>. </p>
<p>There’s a higher chance of disease wiping out zoo populations due to animal proximity. In 2004 the largest tiger zoo in Thailand experienced an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu after <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3320363/">16 tigers were fed contaminated raw chicken</a>; ultimately 147 tigers died or were put down. </p>
<p>However, despite these risks, research shows that <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/330/6010/1503.full">reintroduction campaigns</a> improve the prospects of endangered species, and <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10871200390180163">zoos can play a crucial role in conservation</a>. Zoos are continually improving their management of the genetics, behaviour and epidemiology of captive populations. </p>
<p>They are the last resort for species on the brink of extinction, such as the <a href="http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=959">Orange-bellied Parrot</a> or the <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/15568/0">Scimitar-horned Oryx</a>, and for those <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/331/6023/1390.full">facing a threat that we cannot stop yet</a>, such as amphibians threatened by the deadly <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3323396/">Chytrid fungus</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171975/original/file-20170602-8018-k2eiwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171975/original/file-20170602-8018-k2eiwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171975/original/file-20170602-8018-k2eiwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171975/original/file-20170602-8018-k2eiwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171975/original/file-20170602-8018-k2eiwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171975/original/file-20170602-8018-k2eiwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171975/original/file-20170602-8018-k2eiwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Orange-bellied parrots are ranked among the most endangered species on the planet – their survival depends on zoos.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://one.aap.com.au/#/search/orange%20bellied%20parrot?q=%7B%22pageSize%22:100,%22pageNumber%22:1%7D">Chris Tzaros/AAP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Zoos need clear priorities</h2>
<p>A cost-benefit approach can help zoos prioritise their actions. Taronga, for example, uses a prioritisation system to decide which projects to take on, with and without captive breeding. Their aim is to a foresee threats to wildlife and ecosystems and implement strategies that ensure sustainability. </p>
<p>Developing prioritisation systems relies on clearly defined objectives. Is there value in keeping a species in captivity indefinitely, perhaps focusing only on education? Is contributing to a wild population the end goal, requiring both education and active conservation?</p>
<p>Once this is defined, zoos can assess the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982215000809">benefit and costs</a> of different actions, by asking sometimes difficult questions. Is a particular species declining in the wild? Can we secure a genetically diverse sample before it is too late? Will capturing animals impact the viability of the wild population? How likely is successful reintroduction? Can we provide enough space and stimulation for the animals, and how expensive are they to keep?</p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12613/full">Decision science</a> can help zoos navigate these many factors to identify the best species to target for active captive conservation. In Australia, some of the rapidly declining northern mammals, which currently do not have viable zoo populations, could be a good place to start.</p>
<p>Partnerships with governmental agencies, universities and other groups are essential to all of these activities. Zoos in Australia are experts at engaging with these groups to help answer and address wildlife issues.</p>
<p><br></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Alienor Chauvenet would like to acknowledge the contribution of Hugh Possingham to this article, and thank Nick Boyle and Justine O’Brien from Taronga Conservation Society Australia for the information they provided.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78533/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alienor Chauvenet does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Zoos’ role in conservation is divisive, but in Australia they could be critical in securing and even recovering threatened species.
Alienor Chauvenet, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/78556
2017-05-31T12:39:35Z
2017-05-31T12:39:35Z
Tigers can roam for hundreds of miles – should they ever be kept in zoos?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171526/original/file-20170530-23681-1anvsw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Duke.of.arcH / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The sad <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-40087357">death of a tiger keeper</a> at Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire, England, has led some to question whether this accident was related to the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-40089174">amount of space</a> the captive tigers had access to. </p>
<p>Some <a href="http://www.peta.org.uk/blog/zookeeper-mauled-death-tiger-cambridgeshire-zoo/">critics of zoos</a> have pointed out that tigers can range over thousands of square kilometres in the wild rather than the few thousand square metres they are provided with in captivity. This is true. But despite being able to roam over such large distances wild tigers still <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2556041/Man-eating-tiger-kills-tenth-human-six-weeks-escaping-north-Indian-national-park.html">kill significant numbers of people</a> every year. Therefore, I would argue that the quantity of space argument is a fallacious one. What matters is the quality of the space.</p>
<p>There is, of course, a <a href="https://www.aza.org/assets/2332/tiger_care_manual_2016.pdf">minimum space requirement</a> that animals need to experience good welfare, and no tiger should ever be kept in a small cage. But once this minimum has been met, the animal needs space it can utilise meaningfully. </p>
<p>Think about sitting in the seat of a low-cost airline. It is uncomfortable, cramped, boring and almost bearable for a short journey, but not for the rest of your life. At the other extreme, in a first-class airline suite, you are provided with everything you could possibly want – gourmet food, more space, a bed, unlimited entertainment, a shower, and so on. A much longer and more pleasant life would definitely be sustainable in this situation.</p>
<p>The reality is that good zoos are more like first-class airline cabins than budget carriers. This is not to deny the existence of <a href="https://theconversation.com/zoos-like-hospitals-should-be-forced-to-record-and-publish-all-death-data-74225">awful zoos</a>; my point is that it is perfectly possible for a tiger to live a long and happy life in the right sort of captivity.</p>
<p>It doesn’t require pampering. Zoo animals are already <a href="https://phys.org/news/2014-07-obesity-overweight-zoo-elephants.html">becoming obese</a> just like humans in richer societies and for the same reasons – too much energetic food and not enough exercise. For this reason, good zoos have been <a href="http://www.enrichment.org/">providing objects or enclosure fittings</a> to stimulate natural behaviour.</p>
<p>In good zoos throughout the world, you will no longer see a tiger receiving all of its food in a bowl, but instead some of its food will be suspended by a rope from its enclosure’s roof or placed on the top of a pole. Thus tigers, like most zoo animals, now need to work for a living. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171630/original/file-20170531-25700-1h76ap0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171630/original/file-20170531-25700-1h76ap0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171630/original/file-20170531-25700-1h76ap0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171630/original/file-20170531-25700-1h76ap0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171630/original/file-20170531-25700-1h76ap0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171630/original/file-20170531-25700-1h76ap0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171630/original/file-20170531-25700-1h76ap0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171630/original/file-20170531-25700-1h76ap0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Captive tigers are encouraged to be active.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">hin255 / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But would tigers choose to work for a living? This is a good question we don’t truly know the answer to, which is why animals should be encouraged to engage with <a href="https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-28/november-2015/choice-and-control-animals-captivity">environmental enrichment</a> – but not forced. </p>
<h2>Tigers don’t wander for the sake of it</h2>
<p>What we do know is that <a href="http://www.tiem.utk.edu/%7Egross/bioed/bealsmodules/optimal.html">optimal foraging theory</a> suggests tigers don’t really <em>want</em> to range over thousands of square kilometres.</p>
<p>Scientists have spent many decades looking at how animals search for food. And the consistent result that has come out of the hundreds of <a href="http://bio.research.ucsc.edu/%7Ebarrylab/classes/CHAPTER_PDFS/Chap_6_Optimal.pdf">studies</a> is that animals try and spend the minimum amount of time or energy for the maximum amount of food reward. That is, animals act like logical consumers and try to maximise their cost-benefit ratio. </p>
<p>Returning to our tiger, it ranges over thousands of kilometres because that is the distance necessary to find all the resources it requires to survive. If resources such as food were more densely distributed then wild tigers would roam over much smaller distances. You can see this playing out in the wild, where tiger ranging distance depends on the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/female-tiger-panthera-tigris-home-range-size-and-prey-abundance-important-metrics-for-management/C427421DD59691CFF5C9D1D06CDEC07A">density of their prey</a>. In Siberia, each individual covers a vast distance as the deer they eat are few and far between, while the <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Kaziranga-has-the-worlds-highest-tiger-density-report/article16373525.ece">lush forests and marshlands</a> of northern India can sustain many more tigers in the same sized area.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171637/original/file-20170531-1275-1n4glh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171637/original/file-20170531-1275-1n4glh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171637/original/file-20170531-1275-1n4glh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171637/original/file-20170531-1275-1n4glh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171637/original/file-20170531-1275-1n4glh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171637/original/file-20170531-1275-1n4glh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171637/original/file-20170531-1275-1n4glh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171637/original/file-20170531-1275-1n4glh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Siberian tigers travel for hundreds of miles … because they have to.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ondrej Prosicky / Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My zoo designer friends would rightly point out to me that it is easier to create more complex and interesting space in a larger area. I wholeheartedly agree. However, I personally feel that legislating minimum space requirements is not a good solution, as these minimums become the de facto norm. Such regulations could also stop the implementation of new housing systems such as the <a href="http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/Explore/Zoo360-Animal-Trails.htm">Zoo360 animal exploration trails</a> at Philadelphia Zoo, where animals are able to move around the zoo and chose their environment. </p>
<p>Many studies have shown that captive animals <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159106001985">enjoy this kind of novelty</a>, and this is one of the reasons <a href="https://awionline.org/content/control-and-complexity-novel-object-enrichment">environmental enrichment</a> improves animal welfare. But it must be novelty over which the animals <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159106001973">have some control</a> – a constantly changing environment can be as stressful as a barren, unchanging one. Variety is only the spice of life when you are in control of it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78556/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert John Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Animal welfare depends on quality of territory not quantity.
Robert John Young, Professor of Wildlife Conservation, University of Salford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.