I've been reading Gerald Durrell's book "The Overloaded Ark" about his expedition in the 1950s to Cameroon in order to collect animals for zoos.
I gather that this used to be quite common. In the 1962 movie "Hatari" John Wayne and his co-stars capture African megafauna in Tanzania for zoos.
Does anything like this still go on in the 21st century for zoos? I know that most of the marine life found in aquariums in still wild caught, but how common is this process for terrestrial life?
How do new species come into zoos, or for groups like primates, carnivores, ungulates, and birds, is this more or less over?
One route for new species in zoos is confiscated animals from illegal shipments, but is this likely to result in sustainable populations of new species? More likely it seems like it may result in one-off animal displays in zoos hosting the animals, like the pangolin that was at the LA Zoo several years ago.
Are we in an era where zoos are focusing more on creating sustainable populations of the species that they already have rather than increasing the diversity of species being displayed?
People here frequently bemoan the reduction in antelope and cat species diversity, but in this a necessary process for sustaining 21st century zoos?
I gather that this used to be quite common. In the 1962 movie "Hatari" John Wayne and his co-stars capture African megafauna in Tanzania for zoos.
Does anything like this still go on in the 21st century for zoos? I know that most of the marine life found in aquariums in still wild caught, but how common is this process for terrestrial life?
How do new species come into zoos, or for groups like primates, carnivores, ungulates, and birds, is this more or less over?
One route for new species in zoos is confiscated animals from illegal shipments, but is this likely to result in sustainable populations of new species? More likely it seems like it may result in one-off animal displays in zoos hosting the animals, like the pangolin that was at the LA Zoo several years ago.
Are we in an era where zoos are focusing more on creating sustainable populations of the species that they already have rather than increasing the diversity of species being displayed?
People here frequently bemoan the reduction in antelope and cat species diversity, but in this a necessary process for sustaining 21st century zoos?
