Can Zoos Actually Cause
Endangered Animals To Go Extinct?

Overtime, Zoos have been one of the biggest controversial topics when talking about endangered species. As we know, endangered species have become more common as time goes on. And many people have different points of views on if zoos actually help or worsen the population of these species. An image is placed in minds where zoos hold animals captive and never let them be able to live their life to the fullest. However, not all cases are like that. Seriously endangered species need to be watched at all times to ensure they won’t go extinct. They also need to have research done so that zoologists and other scientists have more knowledge to prevent them from going extinct. Yes, Zoos can help in that aspect but they also hold animals that aren’t endangered, so why would they hold them in captivity?

As we know the world has been falling into a crisis, having different species die off left and right. There are many reasons that influence this crisis like, lack of knowledge, destruction of habitat, and not respecting the animals around us. In spite of that, sources have shown that  conservation translocations could help populations grow by rehabilitating small populations or allowing new ones to start. What conservation relocation is, is that it purposely moves and releases different types of  plants, animals, or fungi into the wild in order to save them from going extinct. Due to Richard Henry’s translocation experiment with birds led to an increasing amount of conversational translocation which ultimately helped to increase and gained the reintroduction of eminent species. This indicates the species to strengthen and broaden their activities making their population grow.

On the flip side, many studies show that conversational translocation can result in the species becoming overwhelmed and stressed. Having the animal being captured, transported and relocated into an area that has never been seen before or are not comfortable with can put a lot of stress on a wild animal. This stress can lead to a variety of major changes consisting of biological, physiological and behavioral changes. It can also lead to the animal having a hard time hunting and just completely cut out eating. It also can affect their relationships with the others in their population. Since animals depend on each other when it comes to hunting and protection, translocation can potentially hinder their routine of these sorts. 

Zoos use a variety of approaches to halt the extinction of species that cannot thrive in their natural environments. Captive breeding, in which animals are bred in restricted areas like farms, zoos, and aquariums outside of their natural environment, is a popular strategy. The expansion of the population to the point where it can be controlled, becomes stable, or where the species is in good health is the objective of captive breeding. To long-term maintain genetic diversity, zoos have relied on explicit pedigrees. The majority of animals raised in captivity are unable to return to their natural habitats, but it is not impossible. In some instances, animals have the strength to go back into the wild and continue living their lives as if they had never left.

However, while captive breeding can help different populations, not everyone follows that criteria. Their priority is to provide entertainment for visitors with baby animals. Their intentions were never to help the species, instead to help the zoos get more profits. Doing this the baby animals are never going to be able to see the wild and live out their life without being held in captivity. Even if they do get a chance, the zoos never prepare the animals enough for them to survive in the wild. Not only could the chances of the offspring being let out in the wild be slim to none, there are also side effects that can be caused by captive breeding. Example being inbreeding. Inbreeding is characterized by lower rates of growth and reproduction, higher mortality rates, and the prevalence of hereditary abnormalities. This isn’t a way that animals should be living their lives, they should be out in the wild. 

In addition to the fact that captive breeding assistance develops the species populace, there are a ton of advantages that accompany it. For instance, it could assist in educating people about the various animals and the environments in which they live, which can potentially generate funds for shelters and research. Instruction and public mindfulness is essential to aiding jeopardized creatures since we can figure out how to safeguard them and fund-raise towards reserves so more examination should be possible. By allowing children to learn about, become interested in, and appreciate wildlife, zoos and aquariums contribute significantly to public awareness. The majority of zoos and aquariums have information about each species that tells where their habitats are, what they eat, how long they live, and other details. People gain knowledge of their local and global environments by seeing this information on display. This may assist citizens in realizing that they must preserve and clean the environment around them in order for animals to live in safer areas. As a result, this may be able to maintain the animal’s population.

Zoos over all strip not only endangered species, but all animals from their natural habitat and hold them in captivity with little to no knowledge of what the outside world looks like. Instead they are behind bars used for entertainment. Animals shouldn’t live like that, they should be out running in the wild and fend for themselves. Animals are going to die, it’s inevitable. But it’s the circle of life.  Us humans shouldn’t try to take that away from them. Baby animals that are born in captivity will never fully learn how to fend for themselves if for the slight chance that they will be let out in the wild. Zoos are actually hindering the chances of populations to grow. Animals will naturally grow their population in the wild, we shouldn’t force them to produce, especially when they are held captive and scared.

References 

Click to access Wildlife-Translocation-WDM-Technical-Series.pdf

Williamson, B. (2020, October 15). Keeping Wild Animals in Captivity Is Not Conservation. Here’s Why. | World Animal Protection. Www.worldanimalprotection.us.

https://www.worldanimalprotection.us/blogs/keeping-wild-animals-captivity-not-conservation-heres-why

https://www.worldanimalprotection.us/blogs/keeping-wild-animals-captivity-not-conservation-heres-why/

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Why Are Zoos Bad? Why Animals Should not be Kept in Zoos?