The Benefits Of Zoos

Zoos have been a popular destination for people for as long as they have existed. It is exciting to go see the animals. People can feel the joy of spending time with family and friends while also experiencing the closeness of wild animals. It can create quite a rush and bring excitement to those peering through the animal’s habitat. There are many things that bring people to the zoo and many good deeds done by the zoo. However, there are also major welfare issues that needed to be addressed as well. People go to the zoo to for entertainment and socialization as well as come close to the wild. Most people enjoy viewing the animals from a distance just to see the different types that come from around the world. Others love both the aspect of …show more content…
Many species are going extinct or becoming endangered in the wild (theguardian.com). By having these animals in zoos it is keeping them form going completely extinct. The animals may not survive in the wild due to natural causes such as being hunted by predators, natural weather patterns, or becoming sick or injured. Any of these can cause an animal to become extinct or endangered. If there are a few in captivity they can reproduce and keep the animal from going fully extinct. Furthermore, scientist and ecologists can research the animals held in zoos. By researching and watching the animals in the zoos they can figure out what the animal needs to live a healthy life (theguardian.com). They can also learn how to preserve or save the ecosystem as a whole (theguardian.com). With the information that the scientists collect wile observing the animals they can learn an animal’s natural diet and what type of weather they thrive in. By observing the animals the ecologists can figure out what areas of land need to be restored and what can be done to restore …show more content…
This is all wonderful, but there are many downfalls to zoos as well. A few of those such downfalls are lack of natural living, increased stereotypes, and increased stress. A lack of natural living refers to both the environment and the animal’s behavior. A zoos enclosure may come close to many of the animal’s natural habitat but they are not exactly the same as the animal’s natural habitat (animalsupport.org). Also an animal’s natural behavior will be affected by being in a cage (greengarageblog.com). If an animal is born into captivity its natural behavior might differ from an animal in the wild. Likewise, an animal who is captured then brought to a zoo will exhibit unwanted behaviors (greengarageblog.org). Both of these situations may not help in the sense of research to save the