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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 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?