why animals r kept in cages?

Answer 1

So that the creatures outside the cages (humans) do not harm them.

Answer 2

Cages were designed to contain animals that could not be tamed or domesticated. It's designed to allow us to view the animal without the animal endangering people. Ideally we'd leave the animals in their natural habitat. Barring that, most zoos are going to more natural habitat enclosures (at least for their 'on exhibit' look) where the animals are actually enclosed by moats, high walls or other barriers without using cages. Keep in mind that if having animals in cages disturbs you, just make sure to not support the places which keep them in captivity. The vast majority of zoos around the nation do nothing to support natural habitats or reclaim habitats.

Answer 3

Mainly because people are too stupid and greedy to leave the poor things alone in their unspoiled natural environment, and because we are "collectors" and hunter-gatherers by our own evolutionary past. So, we "collect" things to fulfill an instinctive "need", even though such a need barely exists any more in most of the world. We are also very curious animals, so we like to "study" things to learn about them and about the world around us. If we used our bigger brains to their best advantage, we would learn to "study" animals in their natural surroundings rather than nearly exterminate them and then attempt to "save" them by locking them in cages for public display or private experimentation.

It is this hunter-gatherer mentality which helped us capture, domesticate and tame many animals, which we use for food, labor, or companionship. This is also the evolutionary push behind hoarding and storing up things for possible future use in times of shortage (as do squirrels and other gathering animals). However, in the developed (so to speak) world, with such ready access to food, water, and other basic needs, there is little reason to do so now, but that doesn't stop our instincts from encouraging us to do so. Ask any collector of pretty much anything why they do it, and most will say something along the lines that they really don't know. They enjoy the "hunt" nearly as much or more than the actual "capture" (purchase, finding, etc.), and the newly acquired item quickly loses its immediate value and a new "hunt" begins. The rush of chemical endorphins when tracking "prey" (of any sort - animal, plant, food, clothing, toys, dolls, coins, etc.) reinforces the hunting behavior, leading some people to become "pack rats" (named after a rodent which constantly accumulates anything it can find into its nest, regardless of its use for basic survival) and over-accumulate. Without the environmental pressure to focus our "collecting" onto things with survival value, this evolutionary instinct becomes more like an addiction (again based on the release of pleasure-giving endorphins from the brain when a "hunt" is successful).

Answer 4

Depends on the zoo that you go to, as to whether they are or not. Open plains zoos are becoming more popular. Previously, cages were the only option, they still remain the cheapest.

Answer 5

it keeps them from running away or eating people