Go back over 100 years and zoos provided most people of their only view of animals that many would not have otherwise seen except in drawings. Very few photographs or films were available and people who could afford to would flock to see what must have been almost like science fiction to many of them.
Moving on a few years, and zoos became viewed as a cruel way of keeping animals in captivity for little justifiable reason. Photographs and films were becoming available and then along came television which meant that many more people could see images of animals, often in their native environment. Zoos became less popular and the cost of looking after animals increased to make a visit to the zoo a far more expensive day out than it had been up until this point.
Many zoos changed into wildlife parks, or at least were replaced by such things. More importantly, as it became clear that many animals were facing extinction in the wild, the remaining zoos and parks began cooperative breeding programs to ensure that some species would not disappear quite as quickly as was once feared. The situation today is perhaps slightly better than it was for some animals but, outside of zoos, many have been left with very little natural habitat because of man's demands for living space and resources of all kinds.
Which brings us to this particular piece. It is not earth shattering news, but a panda has lived to the ripe old equivalent age of 105 years in captivity. Has it been a benefit to this panda in particular or even to pandas in general? What are your views on the role of zoos and wildlife parks in the modern world? [JR]
From the following story:
An An, the world’s oldest male giant panda in captivity, has died at the age of 35, the equivalent of 105 years old for a human.
Ocean Park, the Hong Kong theme park where the panda lived, said An An’s health had been declining in recent weeks and he had been eating less. The panda was put down by a veterinarian on Thursday morning after he stopped eating altogether.
“Ocean Park is deeply saddened to announce the loss of An An,” it said in a statement on its website.
An An was a gift from the Chinese government and had been at the park since 1999. Jia Jia, the female panda who was given to Ocean Park with An An, died in 2016 when she was 38.
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Sunday July 24 2022, @10:19AM
...cringing 1.3billion people with awful pans using terrible grammar...
compiling...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 24 2022, @11:01AM (2 children)
Allowing a gift to die. Not caring for it appropriately. Penalties for failure.
Could be expensive.
Could be paying off this debt for years.
Who knows, could cost the entire country...
(Score: 1) by aafcac on Sunday July 24 2022, @04:29PM (1 child)
Hong Kong is part of China, so I'd be shocked if they hadn't consulted with the authorities. Also from what I can tell, 35 years is a long life for that particular species is well into old age.
But, yes, they are on loan from the Chinese government and if they didn't do everything to the relevant regulation, they probably won't be getting another one.
(Score: 2) by boltronics on Monday July 25 2022, @02:12AM
My understanding (from what my spouse told me who is originally from Hong Kong) is that the zoo did indeed consult with experts in China before making the decision.
Her news websites are in Traditional Chinese and I have no idea what source this was from.
It's GNU/Linux dammit!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by acid andy on Sunday July 24 2022, @12:00PM (7 children)
It depends. I would argue that the question of whether or not it's been beneficial to An An as an individual depends on his quality of life. That in turn depends on what resources that the zoo--oh, sorry, my bad, theme park (WTF?)--on what resources the theme park is able to devote, and chooses to devote, to maintaining and improving that quality of life. The employees need to understand what that is, how to provide it, and I would argue to actually care about doing so.
On the other hand, life in the wild tends to get romanticized and one reason domesticated animals tend to live considerably longer than their wild counterparts is reduced stress, improved diet and probably in many cases even an improved social life and improved psychological health. Of course an animal in a zoo or theme park probably isn't getting the same degree of loving care a beloved pet dog might get and you have to factor in that many of these places are run for profit and have a strong motivation to provide entertainment for their customers. How the customers behave and how the animals interpret that will have a huge impact on their mental wellbeing as well.
As for the question of what benefit protecting pandas from extinction has for pandas in general, I would argue that as a species is essentially a collection of individuals, pandas in general benefit if the individuals benefit, so it again comes back to what quality of life is experienced for the individuals. Most species won't know or care if they are about to become extinct--it's humans as well as the other species dependent on the extinct species that suffer as a result. However, the individuals of a species will in many cases suffer a reduced quality of life due to pressures that are leading to their extinction. I would assume this would have a particularly unpleasant effect on social animals as their companions die off--some animals have certainly been observed to grieve the loss of another (Elephants come to mind as a popular example but I'm sure there are many others).
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Sunday July 24 2022, @12:02PM
Forgot to say, R.I.P., An An.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 4, Informative) by janrinok on Sunday July 24 2022, @12:37PM (3 children)
Wildlife parks are not theme parks, although there may be elements of both on one site. Perhaps they don't exist where you live. Wildlife parks have animals roaming free. They will be separated from each other if one is the predator of another, but otherwise they mix reasonably well as they would in the wild.
One in the UK [longleat.co.uk] covers a huge area (9000+ acres), and has enclosures for lions, tigers. hippos, etc. It is as close to free roaming as possible.
A major part of their role is a series of breeding programs with other zoos and wildlife protection projects around the world to ensure that the various animals do not become inbred and to protect endangered species.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Sunday July 24 2022, @03:19PM (2 children)
No, I know, I got that, hence my bewildered disdain.
You see I question whether these two concepts should be mixed. Shouldn't they be focusing on the wildlife? I guess the excuse is it draws in and entertains more customers, providing more funding, which they may claim means more to improve life for the animals.
I could probably find something similar if I looked hard enough, but I don't want to look. Theme parks aren't my cup of coffee.
Yes generally a good plan when you're looking after a small population.
Sorry for the slight snark JR, I've been in a foul mood these past couple of days.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Sunday July 24 2022, @04:43PM (1 child)
I wasn't quite sure how much you know about UK wildlife parks - I know nothing about similar ventures elsewhere.
I don't think any UK parks are also joint theme parks - but if there are any I am sure somebody will correct me! They usually do :-) They have the usual children's zoo, plus all the extras such as cafeterias, ice cream and drink vendors but the only 'rides' are in special safari vehicles or 'trains', which protect the passengers from the wildlife. Everybody else just drives around in their own cars under the control of the wardens who operate the gates to various areas.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Monday July 25 2022, @11:45AM
Thanks, I get what you mean--and it does seem a little confusing given that what one culture calls a wildlife park may be very different to another.
From that description we don't know what the company's core business is. Are they first and foremost a theme park with rides and plastic models with a few animals as a sort of sideshow? Or are they highly focused on conserving wildlife and decided to add popular theme park attractions as a means to that end? I suppose it's possible for a larger company to be experts at both those things, with departments for each, or maybe they just outsource one part of it to someone else.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Sunday July 24 2022, @03:27PM (1 child)
I think the question of individual benefits of captivity vary tremendously depending on the disposition of the species and even the individual animal.
I have observed many animals in captivity which clearly had issues with lack of range to roam, and many overstimulated/overwhelmed by all the visitors observing or simply being near them. Even enclosures of hundreds of acres can be overly restrictive for natural behavior, and being allowed to retreat from public view into tiny concrete caves seems like little solice for big species.
Still, life in the cage with reliable nutritious food, protection from predators, and even a selection of mates delivered periodically must be appealing to some animals. Clearly, they lose their wild survival skills, but if they happily serve as ambassadors for their species, I think all members of their species can benefit from a small group in captivity. The real trick is in determining the mental wellness of the captives and respecting when they would be better off released.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2, Interesting) by aafcac on Sunday July 24 2022, @04:26PM
Absolutely, as well as the attitude of the park goers. Having seen people throw non-food items at animals in cages, I do suspect that it will vary a lot. The local zoo has some elk, but the enclosure is rather small by elk standards and large by zoo standards meaning that you often times can't tell if there's any animals in the enclosure, but not really enough room for them to roam either. Which is arguable the worst of all worlds as the animals haven't got the needed space, and the visitors can't see them either.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by oumuamua on Sunday July 24 2022, @04:48PM (2 children)
With the double threat of climate change and the tripling of Africa's human population, zoos and wildlife parks will be the only place to find lions and most other large African mamals.
(Score: 1) by aafcac on Sunday July 24 2022, @05:12PM (1 child)
Don't forget about druglords using them as status symbols.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 24 2022, @05:35PM
Need a "sad, but true" mod.
And don't forget rich people and autocratic leaders "hunting" them in when they are confined to a pen.
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Sunday July 24 2022, @08:37PM
"Free at last..."