Zoological gardens.

[G-CPTN]

I have started this topic here as I didn't see an obvious location - though I don't imagine it will be long-lived.

Many businesses that rely on visitors for income are struggling and may well not be able to continue.
Zoos are an example where the running costs are immense - though the animals need to be fed and cared for regardless of whether visitors pay to see the animals.
The bigger the collection of animals the more attractive to visitors, but the more expensive to maintain.

Zoos were (probably) a Victorian invention to permit the population to see 'exotic' creatures that otherwise not be accessible except to the rich traveller.
More recently, zoos have taken on a conservation role to breed animals that are otherwise disappearing from their native habitat - some with the intention of repatriating and repopulating their natural environment.

Technology has evolved greatly since their inception and today's children (and adults) probably don't need to see a caged animal to appreciate their like - although today's zoos have moved on with larger enclosures and 'parks'.

40 years ago I was appalled to see a polar bear 'swinging' and pacing back and forth in a very small outdoor pen - signs of distress and boredom.

Is it time to abandon the zoo concept and close them down? - although many of the animals probably couldn't be returned to the wild and transporting them to suitable 'safari parks' would be expensive and probably beyond the resources of the current guardians.

Between a rock and a hard place - so most would be 'euthanized'.

What do you think? Have zoos outlived their sell-by date - or is the need for ongoing conservation worthwhile?

Of course, taken to its extreme, keeping fish in a domestic aquarium or birds in cages is artificial.

[Capetonian]

There is a difference between a 'zoo', an appalling concept, and conservation efforts such as Jersey Zoo, which was briefly rebranded as Durrell Wildflife and then went back to Jersey Zoo - no doubt thought up by some overpaid wanking consultant.
Keeping endangered species in captivity where they can breed and be observed has a value, keeping animals in captivity for human gratification is no better than torturing bulls in front of spectators.

[OFSO]

Mrs OFSO would like it known that she was a founding member of Durrell Wildlife, and also asserts that Gerald Durrell, despite his outside aspect, was the sexiest man ever and Jambo the gorilla the most entertaining.

[G-CPTN]

asserts that Gerald Durrell was the sexiest man ever and Jambo the gorilla the most entertaining.

Are you sure she got that the right way round?

[ribrash]

I was taken to Chester Zoo when I was 7.My younger sister lost her little dolly bag.I got the blame.Despite living only 25 minutes away I've never been back.

[G-CPTN]

My first memory of a zoo is of the 'penguin parade' at Edinburgh - probably 1950.
When our children were very young we visited Whipsnade - it was a treat to watch when my two or three-year-old saw his first elephant that was "cleaning its ear with its nose" (we didn't have a television).

The swinging polar bear was at Odense Zoo in Denmark in 1983.

[Magnus]

The Sonora Desert Museum is pretty much a zoo, but worth visiting for the hummingbird enclosure. I always enjoyed a day at Taronga, as well.

[Opsboi]

The zoo in Valencia is probably the best I've ever visited

Over here, Dartmoor and Exmoor zoos are exemplary, while Chester has long been a beacon in the field - ironically, I heard the owner today saying that next week he can open his (obviously enclosed) gift shop but not his 168 acres of open land

If the National Trust can open their gardens pre-booked and pre-paid, with timed entrances, why can't zoos?

They seriously need that money

[barkingmad]

Conservation wins as long as the unfortunate critturs are kept in comfortable and appropriate surroundings.
By the time our biped NR relatives in Africa have poached and sold to the Chinks everything that moves and breathes on that awful continent then there will be a requirement for healthy breeding stock to attempt to rectify the damage inflicted on the NR’s environment by the NRs.
Of course that may conflict with the presence of the mammals who caused all the problems in the first place but that solution belongs in the “Need For a Natural Disaster...Epidemic etc” thread...

[ian16th]

The Sonora Desert Museum is pretty much a zoo, but worth visiting for the hummingbird enclosure. I always enjoyed a day at Taronga, as well.

Harewood House, just north of Leeds, used to have an aviary that included Hummingbirds.

Dunno if they still do.

[G-CPTN]

Harewood House, just north of Leeds, used to have an aviary that included Hummingbirds.

Dunno if they still do.

They've probably learnt the lyrics by now.

[bob2s]

At the risk of blowing our own trumpet I would say that we Sydney siders would have one of the best zoo's in the world.The animals have a first class view that we humans pay millions for,situated on the harbour foreshore opposite the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge,a short ferry ride from the centre of Sydney,to a cable car to take you to the main entrance at the top of the slope the zoo occupies.A leisurely stroll back down to the ferry viewing the animals /birds and sundry other atractions makes for a wonderful day.
As for the welfare of the animals, I believe that their keepers endevour to make their lives as pleasant as they can with some of the larger animals now kept at the Western Pains Zoo at Dubbo about a 4.5-5 hour drive from Sydney. So the conseverstion side is very much on their mind.
Make up your own mind ---https://taronga.org.au/sydney-zoo

[Hydromet]

I'd second what Bob2s says about Taronga Park zoo, although it wasn't always like that. I'm old enough to remember the old concrete enclosures and bored animals displaying symptoms of distress & boredom, in particular a rhino in a small enclosure just rocking back & forth. Now, things are much better, and the large animals at Western Plains are in excellent conditions too.
Apparently, during the shut down, some of the animals were missing humans to look at, so were taken around the zoo to see other animals. I'm guessing you'd have to be careful what you took where - the penguins probably wouldn't be too happy to see a seal, or antelopes, a lion.

[Magnus]

Bloody near had a heart attack at Taronga. I'd had a soft drink, and when I dropped the container in a trash bin, an ibis flew up out of the bin. Scared the living wossnames out of me.

[Hydromet]

So you've met our famous bin chickens, Magnus.

[Capetonian]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... aincontent

A rather depressing article (Guardian!) with a sad picture of three elephants at Chester Zoo. I really dislike zoos and even though the Zoo was one of the 'to do' things in Chester, I never went there, but I'm told it's one of the best zoos in the country.

[1DC]

Apparently Chester specialises in breeding endangered species and releasing them back into the wild..

[OFSO]

Islington does the same with NRs.

[Opsboi]

Opening again on June 15

Good

[G-CPTN]

Animals left homeless as zoo permanently closes.