Limitations Of Zoo Animals

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The main issues with the captivity of zoo animals is that many suffer from numerous psychological problems. Justin Worland, author of “The Future of Zoos” used a recent study made by Kari A. Morfeld and Janine L. Brown and explained, “Elephants thrive best when they have social connections and the challenge of having to gather their own food. When those factors aren’t present, elephants tend to have impaired mental states and do not carry out basic functions like reproduction (Worland). Modern zoos may dedicate time and effort into animal safety, but many animals need the natural work out to keep sane. Wild animals placed in zoos are known for suffering from anxiety and depression when taken from their homes and do not adapt well to their…show more content…
Animals taken from nature aren’t the only zoo animals that suffer, either. Captive bred animals suffer from depression, phobias, and even obsessive compulsory disorder due to the flat tight confinement exhibits, many zoos get away with. One example was given by Vint Virga, a specialist in veterinary behavioral medicine, where Alex Halberstadt wrote in his article, “Zoo Animals and Their Discontents,” and stated, “In one, a brown bear in the throes of obsessive-compulsive disorder takes three paces forward, rotates its head counterclockwise, slams it into a metal door, takes three paces back and repeats the pattern over and over” (Halberstadt). The bear would only calm down when given Prozac, a tranquil drug that has commonly been given out to zoo animals who show aggressive and continuous tendencies. These behaviors from the animals all stem from being locked away in confinement, because the findings aren’t parallel with the psychological problems found in wild animals. Zoo animals even attack themselves due to the hectic and unnatural nature of…show more content…
They believe in the conservation efforts made by zoos and trust that zoos has programs in place to help bring back endangered animals. Their belief wouldn’t be wrong as many zoos have had many successful conservation breeding sanctuaries. The California condor, for example, went from the endangered species list to being released back into the wild. In “Do We Need Zoos,” author J. Weston Phippen, asserts, “There [California condor] were only 23 left in 1982. By 1987 researchers and conservationists had captured every last one and moved them into a captive-breeding program. Today, thanks in part to the Los Angeles Zoo, there are hundreds of condors living in captivity, and about 75 have been released back into the wild (Phippen). Alongside the California condor, the red wolf, the Arabian onyx, the European bison, and the Oregon spotted frog are all species that were once on the brink of extinction, but was reintroduced into the wild after breeding programs took charge. While this is an impressive feat of zoos and is often cited as one of the biggest arguments in the case for zoos, programs like these are very few and far in its kind. Most of the species found in zoos are not endangered and of the few that are, most of these species can never live as they once did. According to Phippen’s article, “The Association of Zoos & Aquariums reported that of all the animals at the 228 zoos it accredits, only 30 species are being

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