We love the Zürich Zoo!!!
Or, in the words of my five-year-old Léo, “The zoo is my best walk.”
When I was younger, I was conflicted about zoos. It’s interesting for me to get to see exotic animals in real life, but does that justify putting the majestic lion in a concrete jail cell, not to mention the number of animals that were probably killed in the hunt for these poor specimens?
Fortunately, those kind of zoos are becoming a thing of the past. As the Zurich Zoo website explains: “Modern zoos consider themselves to be nature conservation centres and have formulated a common worldwide conservation strategy, which is backed up by the world conservation union IUCN.” And their centerpiece — the Masoala Rainforest at the zoo — is phenomenal!
So whenever I need a simple and fun outing to get the family out of the apartment, my first thought is to go to the zoo. We can go there for a relaxing lunch, and a part of what we pay goes towards protecting the rainforests of Madagascar. And the kids learn science to boot!
How does the zoo teach kids about science? Look no further than the brand-new baboon habitat they’ve just installed:
The new baboon area is large enough to support multiple baboon harems, and grows grass that the baboons can pick on their own and eat, as they do in the wild. It’s not large enough to grow all of the baboons’ food (normally they wander over a huge territory ), however, the new enclosure allows the baboons a lifestyle that is a lot closer to what they experience in the wild, allowing for a range of more natural behaviors.
The observation pavilion provides information and ideas on how you can observe the baboons like a scientist. And it is no joke or silly side-show — a lot of our knowledge of primate behavior got started in zoos like this one. One of my favorite primatology books — In Quest of the Sacred Baboon — starts just this way: Hans Kummer performed some of the earliest studies of baboon behavior (back in the 1950’s ) right here in the Zurich Zoo!! You can read stories of their behavior in his book. I was going to say that these you see today might be descendants of the ones he studied, but the ones he studied were hamadryas, whereas my son Nico tells me that the current troop is composed of geladas. Nonetheless, you and your kids will really be stepping right into the scientific community.
The zoo’s role in conservation is pretty impressive as well. I’m especially interested in their program to protect amphibians. If you know me, you know I love to observe frogs in the wild! But, unfortunately, amphibians are delicate creatures that are very sensitive to habitat changes — hence they’re in grave danger worldwide. The zoo’s site explains the following:
Nowadays there isn’t any possibility to stop the expansion of the deadly mushroom or to medically cure the sick amphibians in the wild. To save them, there is only one possibility: to bring the endangered amphibians to protected stations. Here they will be able to live and reproduce in a secure environment. The objective of this operation is to make sure that in the future, when conditions will be more favourable, they can be released in their original habitat.
On one of Nico’s David Attenborough discs (Life in Cold Blood ) we got to see some golden frogs in the wild. Now, sadly, they’re extinct in the wild and currently live only in amphibian breeding and protection centers such as here in Zurich:
I think these are golden frogs, but I’m not completely sure. My husband took all these photos.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the other highlights of this zoo: the fact that they let some of the animals roam free when appropriate. They do an adorable “penguin parade” so the king penguins can go for a walk and get some exercise when its cold enough. They also let the peacocks roam free all around the zoo all the time. But one of my favorites is when they let out the lion tamarins!
Now, I’m sorry that all of my “science outing” ideas are for the Zürich area, which I’m guessing isn’t helpful for more than 90% of the people reading this. However, in the comments of our visit to the solar system we discovered that there are scale models of the solar system all over the world! Similarly, I’ll bet you’ll find that your local zoo or aquarium is involved in science and conservation as well!
Julie Said,
December 7, 2008 @ 3:43 pm
How great. We’ve been meaning to get to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific for a while, but we’ve all been sick and today we’re decorating the Xmas tree!
Nancy Said,
December 12, 2008 @ 4:30 pm
I love zoos too. Steve Jones makes a very interesting point about them though in Almost a Whale, his book which I suppose picks up where Dariwn left off, revisiting some of his themes. Anyway, the point he makes is that the moment an animal survives in captivity, it is no longer the same animal that as it was in the wild. Animals begin to adapt to captivity favoring many of the very traits that would make it difficult to survive in the wild. He uses white tigers as an example.
In that sense Zoos can’t be conservation centers – at least not for nature. What they can be, however are great entertainment and learning opportunities for people. I think they can be justified on that basis alone without having to graft a worthy agenda to them.
chanson Said,
December 13, 2008 @ 1:13 am
Nancy — That’s an excellent point.
In the case of the various frog species that they’re currently breeding here in the Zürich Zoo, they may successfully reindroduce them in the wild when conditions are more favorable. But species that rely on learned behaviors to survive typically can’t be reintroduced into the wild, and even if they could, the main problem is that their wild habitats are being lost and destroyed.
I think that zoos can assist in conservation efforts (through education, scientific study of the animals, and occasionally by providing additional genetic diversity, if useful ). But a wild ecosystem is composed of so many different types of species on so many levels (down to tiny ones in the soil and air ), that there’s no way a zoo could come close to conserving the whole thing. And preserving a few specimens in captivity shouldn’t be mistaken for actual conservation, which requires protection and preservation of wild habitats and ecosystems.
kookimebux Said,
February 1, 2009 @ 1:10 pm
Hello. And Bye.