Calling all ZooChatters! I was bored at work earlier this morning, and the idea came to me for a book about the unique challenges, experiences, and controversies of keeping the four largest land animals in zoos/captivity. Let me emphasize that I'm still at the very beginning of the planning phase, and there's zero guarantee I'll actually write this thing. It would be my first book if I did, I'm a total layman, and I will have to do a lot of learning along the way to make it work. But I feel like the concept has potential and is within the realm of things I might have the capacity to write decently well, so here we are.
My first step: research! That's where the ZooChat community comes in: I assume a forum full of dedicated zoo nerds has a ridiculous treasure trove of knowledge available. My current plan is to split the book into a chapter for each animal (all species would be lumped together in the four chapters, but discussed individually as warranted). Each chapter would include a basic overview of the animal itself, its history in human care, its current general status in zoos, a description of the requirements and logistics of caring for it, ethical debates around keeping it (where applicable), and how zoos impact its conservation. The book would be aimed at the general public and written at that level, nothing overly scholarly.
I'd just like to use this thread as a catch-all for must-include info, interesting trivia and anecdotes, good resources I could look into, that kind of thing. Anything anyone wants to share. I assume we have some actual zookeepers and zoologists here, and I would be particularly interested in any personal stories or thoughts from people with firsthand experience working with these animals. I will, of course, give credit to everyone who contributes. Thank you in advance!
And if the book doesn't pan out, this just seems like a somewhat worthwhile thread in general.
My first step: research! That's where the ZooChat community comes in: I assume a forum full of dedicated zoo nerds has a ridiculous treasure trove of knowledge available. My current plan is to split the book into a chapter for each animal (all species would be lumped together in the four chapters, but discussed individually as warranted). Each chapter would include a basic overview of the animal itself, its history in human care, its current general status in zoos, a description of the requirements and logistics of caring for it, ethical debates around keeping it (where applicable), and how zoos impact its conservation. The book would be aimed at the general public and written at that level, nothing overly scholarly.
I'd just like to use this thread as a catch-all for must-include info, interesting trivia and anecdotes, good resources I could look into, that kind of thing. Anything anyone wants to share. I assume we have some actual zookeepers and zoologists here, and I would be particularly interested in any personal stories or thoughts from people with firsthand experience working with these animals. I will, of course, give credit to everyone who contributes. Thank you in advance!
And if the book doesn't pan out, this just seems like a somewhat worthwhile thread in general.