education is the key, youre right jarkari, and when zoos present tigers in an 'eco-system' habitat, im much the same way as elephants are at taronga and melbourne they are highlighting the significance of ecological interdependence. species obviously didnt eveolve in islolation and therefore the message of tiger conservation, or any keystone species is most effective and valid when presented in this context.
ptig, i fully agree with dreamworlds husbandary protocol, enrichment and think the projects the are supporting are valid tools. having been to dreamworld, i saw first hand the magnificence of the display and the tigers. but surrounded by commercial eateries, souveneir shops and rides, it can be hard to foster any sort of contemplative or reverential attitude towards these animals.
what im questioning or merely raising is whether dreamworld is actually in an effective postion to be a conservation education forum, as opposed to a zoo like say taronga. chances are, visitors to dreamworld will walk away knowing alot more about tigers than a visitor to taronga, but the context in which zoos present their animals (for example, the tiger within a tropical forest framework) has deeper implications for conservation and sustainability awareness. melbourne zoo and taronga zoo, behind the elephant importation 'scandal' both present thse animals within their environmental and cultural context, surrounded by other animals, themed architecture and education. to say the animals were brought out here to boost revenue is as much as an over-simplification of the saga as it would be to say that just by having them here were going to save elephants. the reasons behind this import, as youre proably aware, ranged from, yes increasing attendance to the zoos, to supporting in-situ work (which both zoos were doing along time before the import) and also to ensure that future australian zoos actually have animals. without these elephants, for example, our representation of mega-fauna could soon just be giraffe and white rhino. and as someone who both believes in zoos roles and their future this was frightening. to draw a comparison between asian elephants in zoos and dreamworlds tigers is opening up a wide margin for scrutiny.
i think zoos are much better placed than theme parks like dreamworld to deliver these messages because... -the focus is not purely on making money and.... as time goes by, and funds becme available zoos are increasing their focus on ecological sustainability.
this value set is translated in everything they do, from the corporate side of things to what species they choose to display and how they are contributing to this species in the wild. in australia, perth zoo is leading the way, but the other zoos all have equally strong enviro agendas. and finally, figures surrounding surrounding in-situ support form any zoo are always hard to breakdown, because often in-kind support such as staff, consultation and equipment are not disclosed.
