Why is the zoo important to the community?

Answer 1

It’s an interesting question that many people wonder about. Why have people created zoos, and why are they important now?

The idea of a zoo actually started a long time ago, in the ancient cultures of China, the Middle East, and then the Roman Empire. As people started to travel more, for longer distances to explore the unknown, they began to discover animals and plants that they had never seen or heard of before. They were fascinated by these amazing creatures. Travelers reported back to their communities and their leaders what they had seen. Rulers like emperors, sultans, and kings often wanted to prove how wealthy and powerful they were, to each other and to their subjects. One way to do that was to "collect" some of these animals, and allow people to come and see them. These collections were called menageries, and usually only the rich and powerful had them.

But that changed as time went on, and eventually it was countries and then individual cities that had collections of exotic animals for people to come and see, and they were no longer reserved only for wealthy rulers. Zoology is the study of animals, so these became zoological collections. You guessed it—that was then shortened to the word we use now: zoos.

Zoos open to the public
At first most zoos only had a limited number of animals, usually the ones people had heard about but never seen in person, like lions, bears, giraffes, hippos, and other big and impressive species. Then as zoos became more popular, and traveling to get animals became more possible, zoos started to represent animals from particular countries and parts of the world. Zoologists studied these animals to find out more about them: what they ate, how they grew, how they had young, and how they behaved, among other things. But zoos were open to the general public, too, so everyone could find out about animals.

Connecting with critters
Zoos today still serve that important purpose: they allow us to study and find out more about animals that we would not understand otherwise. People are curious and want to know about the world around them, and that especially includes the animals and plants with which we share the Earth. In addition to studying animals in zoos, scientists are also able to go out to the countries where animals live and study them in the field, or their habitat. But most people cannot do that, so zoos allow them to see and connect with what would otherwise be unavailable to them.

Helping wildlife
These days we also have cable TV, though, and there are lots of wild animal shows that we can watch. So why still have zoos? One of the most important reasons is conservation. Humans are destroying the Earth’s habitats at a very fast pace, in order to make space, food, and products for ourselves. But that leaves less and less room for animals and plants. Zoos and wildlife parks are places where we can protect species that are in trouble, so they don’t disappear from the Earth completely.

People do have different opinions about that, though. Some people think that animals should not be kept by humans for any reason, and that if they go extinct, then that’s the way it should be. Other people think that animals are precious resources, an important part of the Earth, and that we should do everything we can to protect them, especially since we are the ones putting them in danger in the first place. Some people feel that there is lots of wild space and that animals should only live there. Other people feel that there is very little wild space left, that animals are contained by humans in some way no matter where they are, and it is up to us to take care of them the best we can. It’s a discussion that will probably go on for a long time, especially as more and more species become endangered.

There is another thing that zoos accomplish, which could be one of the most important of all. Zoos give people the opportunity to see animals in person, often up close, to watch them, realize how alike we are in many ways, to understand them, and to appreciate them. It’s amazing to come almost face to face with an elephant or tiger, for example, to see how big it is, to feel its power, to look in its eyes; or to see an orangutan or gorilla amble right by you, holding its baby or playing chase with its brother or sister. It is said that people only love what they understand, and they only protect what they love. Zoos may be the last stand for wild species, the place where humans can grow to love them, and then work to protect them.
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Regards

Answer 2

it is an eduactional and entertaining place for people to see so many species at one place close to home or when they traveled to distant cities.

the zoos also take care of animals which have been ill in the wild. zoo breeding programs help endangered species because they develop ways to breed them in captivity. giant pandas did not initially breed in captivity but now they are.

animal research, stydy of behaviours and mating, nutritional needs etc can be done by experts on a day to day basis rather than scientists living out in the wild.

I also feed sad for the "trapped" animals but these are the poster children for the animal kingdom. without zoos many people would not care to donate time and money to improve living conditions and to protect animal habitats around the world. looking at Nat Geographic is great but to see these fascinating animals in real life is something else. Their plight in the real world becomes more real when we see them in person.

I support my local zoo and believe they are the right thing to do. I cannot afford or risk going to an african safari to see these exotic animals but I have been lucky enough to see offspring of rare animals such as gorillas, orangutans, and giraffes happily grow up at the phoenix az zoo. these events have left precious memories in my life.

Answer 3

it is important cause it shows the local animals that are here i suspect. sometimes we do get an odd one or two to show but its showing us how big they are and how wild they are and to be careful and take care of the environment so we can have them forever. if we dont' take care they will be gone for other kids to see.

Answer 4

I guess it's a way to familiarize ourselves with nature, especially with the animals. However, it somehow harms the animals because it takes them (the animals) away from their natural habitat. For me, if the objective is to familiarize people to nature, a better way to achieve that objective is to build more animal wildlife parks in the world.

Answer 5

they will be something like incomplete libraries of some of the animals we used to have,

soon.

As well as generating sympathy with the children for animals in general
so that they may grow up wanting to protect them.

Answer 6

for educational purposes