Zoos: Public Places to View Private Lives

Abstract

Zoos are familiar public spaces which enable visitors to observe animals, birds, fish, reptiles, and insects. Historical changes in zoos have been well documented (Hoage and Deiss, Koebner, Anderson) and they continue to change, due to cultural influences and scientific developments. As a result, the enclosures and public spaces available to the animals and the people have also changed. As public places, zoos are no longer simply collections of animals in cages but now are beginning to represent species in context to natural landscapes, plants, and environments for the benefit of both the animals and the visitors.Zoos contain their captive species within enclosures that are spaces of varying sizes encompassed by one or more boundaries. These polygonal spaces may be described as two-dimensional spaces that ideally provide adequate space within the boundaries for the movement of the captive species. The space necessary for different species depends on their behavior and size and, in addition, the number of individuals within an enclosure. For some species, the three-dimensional volume may be a more important feature; as, for example, the volume of water required to support fish or multi-level enclosures for primates requiring a number of active spaces. The shape and size of each enclosure and the degree of its isolation from the visiting public are maintained by the enclosure boundaries. Outside these boundaries, the visiting public occupies the surrounding space, moving between enclosures and groups of enclosures. The rationale for the ways in which enclosures are grouped provides the visitors with a sense of travel or immersion. The primary objective of this essay is to examine these spaces and boundaries in modem zoos and identify their impacts upon the visitors and the captive animals. The Historical and Cultural Development of ZoosAs cultural institutions, zoos are affected by many cultural and technological characteristics of society. These factors have changed considerably over the last few hundred years, and, therefore, zoos have also changed. Although zoos existed as early as the fifteenth century B.C. 13

The effect of visiting zoos on human health and quality of life

“…The historical changes in zoos arising from cultural influences and scientific developments have been well documented (Koebner 1994; Hoage & Deiss 1996). At present, zoos take care of animals in their natural environments for the benefit of both the animals and the visitors (Benbow 2000), providing a context for biophilia.…”

A Pathway to Minimal Impact Wildlife Viewing?

“…While this may still arguably be the case, what visitors find entertaining has changed over time (Benbow, 2000). Past examples such as the London Zoo Chimpanzee Tea Party and dancing bears appear to have lost much of their appeal (Jamieson, 1995).…”

“…There seems to have been a shift from a demand for circus-style performing animals to more natural representations of wildlife (Shackley, 1996). This preference revolves around animals acting in a perceived natural manner within a pleasant natural outdoor setting with educational interpretation (Benbow, 2000;Moscardo, Woods, & Greenwood, 1999). While Mason (2000) noted that zoos housing animals in unnatural conditions was a factor in deterring visitation, Hancocks (2001) commented that though "the public display areas may be luxuriantly green .…”

“…He claims that the naturalistic design of enclosures is purely aesthetic and does not provide any practical benefit to the captive animals, who spend most of there time locked in concrete and metal cages out of public view. Benbow (2000) noted that the lack of representation of ecological context at zoos (simply displaying animals in concrete and metal cages) reinforced perceptions of nature as a source of exotic entertainment. Although modern zoos seek to replicate naturalistic settings for captive wildlife, both Acampora (1998) and Anderson (1995) pointed out that this is simply a variation on the exotic entertainment theme.…”

“…As a result, Acompara claims most zoos ultimately house animals in enclosures that stymie their natural instinct and promote perceptions of human dominion, or mastery, over animals. While this may be an extreme view, the point is that although zoo visitor preferences have shifted from a "circus"-style representation of exotic wildlife to more naturalistic representations, the character and design of zoos mainly provide for the aesthetic demands of visitors more than the needs of captive wildlife (Benbow, 2000).…”