Shift on Conservation Tactics from Focus on Zoological Parks to Focus on Homeland and Habitats of the Animals to Sustain

Zoos and parks bring joy to many people. It’s exciting to witness a wild animal in our own country. Although it’s fun and entertaining to view wild animals in a zoo, these zoos and theme parks are harmful and dangerous to health and population of wildlife. Conservation acts have been made to conserve the animals of the wild, and some believe zoos to be a solution. Conservationists and organizations need to be focusing on the land in which the animals live on and conserve their habitats in order for the species to sustain.

Many countries have come up with successful solutions, and we need to follow suit.

Imagine walking into a zoo and seeing all the animals, getting lost in what’s portrayed to make you feel like the real “jungle.” There are lions, tigers, monkeys, elephants, giraffes, and even camels showcasing themselves for everyone to enjoy and see what it’s like to be in the presence of a real wild animal! On the contrary, these animals aren’t in the wild at all.

Some aren’t even in their native country. Many believe zoos and animal theme parks to be a healthy way of conservation, however, captivity hinders the animals* health and psyche calling for conservationists to embrace the wild and focus conservation on the animals homeland.

Zoological parks have evolved in such a way over the years; most don’t realize the actual purpose they were started for. According to National Geographic, “the first zoos were created as private collections by the wealthy to show their power.

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” Although that’s clearly not the purpose today, the way some animals are captured for the zoos is still grotesquely inhumane. Often times they’re ripped apart from the tight bonds of their families and brought into a captive and much smaller land than they previously lived in. Then once they’re in the captivity of the zoo or park, they’re showcased for hundreds of people to view. Their main purpose in life now has become to entertain.

There have been many steps taken to conserving animals in the wild, however. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was started to conserve the endangered wild but it has since become so outdated and overwhelmed that it can’t handle the problems that have surfaced today (Goode 2015). “The law prohibited actions that further jeopardized endangered species and mandated efforts to restore habitat and increase species’ numbers.” It has been projected that as many as 10 billion humans will be competing with other species for available space by the end of the century. It’s stated that the Endangered Species Act was originally aimed to provide “emergency room treatment” for species on the brink of extinction. Since many businesses, farmers, or new communities are taking up the Earth’s land, there isn’t enough room for wild animals to live peacefully and safely in their natural habitats. This means that nature will not sustain and these rich and fertile places will crumble if there is no cycle of life running through and resources will diminish.

If the zoos and parks keep continuing the way that they are, all of the animals inside will become endangered. They’re not in the proper environment and they’re getting mental illnesses, like depression or psychosis. The documentary Blackfish reveals the shocking truth about captivity of killer whales. It’s namely to blame Sea World for the harsh treatment. The life span of a killer whale in captivity is half as long as it is in the wild and Sea World claims the contrary. There are known to be acts of aggression and lashing out on the other animals and trainers since 2/3 of these whale’s lives are spent in a cramped, concealed, and dark steel box which is where they’re put for the night once the park closes. 70+ Orca-trainer accidents have occurred at the park and none were disclosed to others. It’s unhealthy for these fish to be living this way because they don’t have the room to explore and live. They’re taken away from their families and Orcas are known to have the strongest bonds of any other mammal. Dorsal collapse occurs in less than 1% of male killer whales in the wild, where it occurs in 100% of those in captivity.

There are a great number of solutions to the problem of endangered wildlife. There needs to be a shift in focus on the conservation tactics. Instead of focusing on zoos and theme parks, conservationists need to focus on the homeland of the animals themselves. This way they can live in an appropriate atmosphere and lead the lives they’re supposed to. The country of Rwanda holds an annual gorilla naming ceremony. The ceremony, Kwita Izina, is “part of the government’s effort to monitor the babies and their families in their habitat” (Hageman 2015). The country’s growing gorilla population has become a major tourist draw, which has created great revenue for Rwanda. There are hundreds of other nonprofit organizations that join effort to conserve the wildlife on this planet. Since these foundations are on a budget, people everywhere need to be donating as much as they can to save our planet and the inhabitants on it. The human race needs to recognize that we don’t own this place; we share it with a number of different other kinds of animals and species. We need to start learning how to share.

Some could say that since most of the animals in the zoos aren’t accessible in our country, students won’t have the opportunity to learn about them on a first hand experience. We don’t have to rid zoos, just expose those who treat the animals poorly and deceive us. If these parks and zoos keep capturing animals just to keep stock, soon enough there won’t be any more animals to catch and showcase. A study was done on monkeys in Tanzania. “170 fecal samples of the Udzungwa red colobus monkey showed that they are considered an indicator species of ecological change” (Phys.org 2015). “The region that was studied has fertile soils and forests scattered in valleys and along mountain ridges in the Eastern Arc Mountains. It’s home to many plants and animals that live nowhere else in the world.” This proves that if we focus our energy on conserving the land these animals live on; the benefits will outweigh any downfall.

Conservation efforts have been made to save the endangered species. Although most animals in zoos and theme parks are not endangered, they may soon become endangered if the capturing continues the way it is now. Zoos are educational and fun, but the animals aren’t treated fairly and aren’t in sustainable enough environments to live the long lives they’re intended to. There are two sides to every argument, and although no side could ever truly win, we can come to a compromise in the middle.