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The first zoo is believed to have been in Egypt in around 3500 BC. Early collections of animals on display often belonged to royalty. King Henry I of England had lions, leopards and camels. He had received them as gifts. Until the late twentieth century, the main purpose of zoos was for entertainment. They existed to give people the chance to see animals they could not see in the wild. In 1959, famous wildlife expert Gerald Durrell opened the first zoo which put conservation of animals first.
Nowadays zoos' aims are: conservation, education, entertainment, in that order. Modern zoos try to get a balance between providing safe, comfortable homes for the animals and opportunities for visitors to see animals in natural surroundings. Zoos now share their knowledge and support each other. The World Association for Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) works to educate people about animal welfare and conservation. It also helps to coordinate breeding programmes.
From the 1990s, zoos began to see their main role as saving the most threatened species. Each zoo focuses on a small number of species. The Siberian tiger and the orangutan are two species that have been saved through breeding programmes run by zoos. For example, in 2005 there were between 331 and 393 Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East. By 2015, there were 562. The tigers were helped to breed under the Species Survival Plan of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Often the aim is to reintroduce endangered species into their natural habitats. In Indonesia, Borneo Orangutan Rescue teaches orangutans how to live in the wild. When they are ready, they are taken to protected forests to live naturally.
Now that we have a better understanding of animals, zoos try to recreate natural habitats of animals as accurately as possible. For example, polar bears live in a plain,. white open space. Zoos try to provide 'enrichment' for the animals to improve their wellbeing. This includes climbing frames, feeding puzzles, unusual objects and different types of food. It allows animals to behave in a normal way, such as scratching, climbing, digging and solving problems. Another type of enrichment is mixing up types of animal that would naturally mix in the wild. Colchester Zoo in England has a 'kingdom of the wild' paddock where several species live together. They have found positive changes to the behaviour of these animals as a result.
Different types of technology are used to help create natural environments for animals. In Indianapolis Zoo, in the United States, for example, there is a 'functional forest' called the Hutan Trail, a series of towers and cables 20 metres above the ground. This allows the orangutans to swing around the zoo as they would swing around the forest in their native Indonesia. The cables are strong enough to give them a safe and comfortable trip around the zoo. They have access to three oases, where they can go when they want to be apart from the group.
Likewise, technology has been used to engage the public more with the animals. In many zoos there are webcams in some enclosures so visitors can keep up with their favourite animals between visits to the zoo.
Zoos have moved on over the last few decades. They now play an important role in protecting animals and in making people more aware of the importance of animals. Zoos have made people aware that animals should not be over-hunted and that they play an important role in the ecology of the planet and in helping to maintain the balance of nature
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