Should zoos still exist? Many zoos have tried to say that they are devoted to wildlife conservation, public education, and animal well-being. Almost every zoo states that they make significant donations to conservation by participating in endangered species captive propagation plans and public education programming. However, in most of those zoos, several animals suffer lives of unhappiness and poverty. Animals can suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally. Light and sound also have negative effects on animals held in captivity. Brightness levels are higher than they’re supposed to be; maintaining a low light situation keeps animals less hostile. However, without lighting, people won’t be able to see the animals so the zoos keep the lights
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According to the video, “The Pros & Cons of Zoos”, “Elephants in captivity only live half as long as those who live in natural wildlife preserves. African elephants can expect to live to 36 years old in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park compared to zoo elephants who live to be about 17 years old.” This proves that in zoos, elephants are usually put with one other elephant that they might not work well with, which causes anxiety and diminishes their lifespan. In addition, elephants live in enormous families and are naturally social animals. As stated in the video, “The Pros & Cons of Zoos”, at 1:57, “Researchers at the San Diego Zoo studied cheetahs and their eating habits while in captivity. They gave one group the regular zoo cuisine of ground horse meat with a mix of vitamins and minerals, but gave the second group… half of a large carcass. They noticed the group eating the carcasses took more time chewing and smelling their food than the first group. ...They acted as they would normally in the wild, besides the hunting. Researchers discovered that processed foods lack a ‘hassle factor’ which cheetahs need to dull down their molars and is critical for good dental hygiene.” This shows that lions and other flesh-eating wildlife that receive zoo slop are put in danger because when it comes to feeding, most zoos deliver and serve the food directly to animals. Giving predatory animals carcasses makes them act as they would normally in the wild. Processed foods lack a hassle factor that cheetahs need to dull down their molars and is important for good dental hygiene. Hence, because zoos shorten the lives of zoo animals and cause them to act differently from how they would in the wild, deeply affecting their health, zoos are an appalling
According to the video, “The Pros & Cons of Zoos”, “Elephants in captivity only live half as long as those who live in natural wildlife preserves. African elephants can expect to live to 36 years old in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park compared to zoo elephants who live to be about 17 years old.” This proves that in zoos, elephants are usually put with one other elephant that they might not work well with, which causes anxiety and diminishes their lifespan. In addition, elephants live in enormous families and are naturally social animals. As stated in the video, “The Pros & Cons of Zoos”, at 1:57, “Researchers at the San Diego Zoo studied cheetahs and their eating habits while in captivity. They gave one group the regular zoo cuisine of ground horse meat with a mix of vitamins and minerals, but gave the second group… half of a large carcass. They noticed the group eating the carcasses took more time chewing and smelling their food than the first group. ...They acted as they would normally in the wild, besides the hunting. Researchers discovered that processed foods lack a ‘hassle factor’ which cheetahs need to dull down their molars and is critical for good dental hygiene.” This shows that lions and other flesh-eating wildlife that receive zoo slop are put in danger because when it comes to feeding, most zoos deliver and serve the food directly to animals. Giving predatory animals carcasses makes them act as they would normally in the wild. Processed foods lack a hassle factor that cheetahs need to dull down their molars and is important for good dental hygiene. Hence, because zoos shorten the lives of zoo animals and cause them to act differently from how they would in the wild, deeply affecting their health, zoos are an appalling