You might well imagine a precious and cynical child boldly declaring that a trip to the museum was quite as good, thank you, as one to the zoo. And, indeed, there was a time (not all that long ago), when the kid would have had a point. It has been common for quite a while now that museums possess considerably sized exhibits of animals, of all kinds, in comfortably climate-controlled settings, laid out for viewing in a short and easy stroll.
It true, of course, that the museum animals do lack a rather distinctive quality: which is to say that they're dead -- and stuffed! The truth is though, recalling from my childhood, many of the zoos I visited had animals which were so inanimate, they might well have been stuffed.
The days when zoos were largely animal museums are happily mostly a thing of the past, now. Indeed, in a certain sense, the more opposite to this that a zoo is capable of making itself, the more it may raise itself up into the league of the best zoos in America - or, indeed, the best in the world.
The best zoos in American, and the world, no longer resemble warehouses with bars. And more to the point, they are vigorous participants in the cultivation and preservation of our planet's animal life. This participation often entails facilities and missions for research and enterprise that contributes to preservation of the natural habitat of such animals in the wild.
The result of these mission defining initiatives is a symbiosis: the lessons learned about optimum wildlife habitat preservation enables more rigorous habitat design within the modern zoo. This creates an environment far better suited to the zoo's animals. The result is a greatly more stimulating and rewarding experience for everyone involved.
As zoo animals have the experience of living in environments more closely fit with their evolved dispositions, their natural liveliness is invigorated. This leads to animals with energy and curiosity. Such animals are active and involved with their environment and each other.
The results of this are animals that are far healthier both psychologically and physically. Additionally, this more natural environment is a richer and more profound experience for zoo visitors. The animals' rejuvenated energy and vitality - stimulated by living in conditions so much better fit to their evolutionary needs - results in the opportunity to observe animals that are animated and present.
And of course since the action of the animals is now well suited to their natural environment, the zoo is an educational experience in a far more complex and deep way than the stand-and-gawk zoos of my youth.
This concern for a more natural habitat generally results in greater ranges for the animals. The challenge then can become one of managing to get zoo visitors to the animals without disrupting the benefits of the improved habitats. Innovative zoo keepers have solved this problem with the application of new organizing principles and technology. Notable among these have been development of solutions such as monorails, safari tours and walk through zones.
To identify the best zoos in America , or anywhere in the world, then, it all comes together into a cohesive whole. The conservationist agenda, the new expansive facility designs, the applications of leading technology, in the hands of the most deft zoo keepers and their support staff, have blossomed into a zoological renaissance.
This renaissance has provided the opportunity for zoo visitors to experience foreign and exotic animals in a context both rich in learning opportunities and powerful in exotic wonder. The modern zoo can inspire in us a profound awe in nature's wonders, while offering the extraordinary opportunity to commune with other forms of life: forms of life that, though different from us, as the inevitable consequence of a shared evolutionary legacy, also in an uncanny way captures some common thread.
This it seems to me is the real miracle of the best zoos in America and anywhere: they facilitate a marriage of science and technology to inspire in us an experience of the sublime.
It true, of course, that the museum animals do lack a rather distinctive quality: which is to say that they're dead -- and stuffed! The truth is though, recalling from my childhood, many of the zoos I visited had animals which were so inanimate, they might well have been stuffed.
The days when zoos were largely animal museums are happily mostly a thing of the past, now. Indeed, in a certain sense, the more opposite to this that a zoo is capable of making itself, the more it may raise itself up into the league of the best zoos in America - or, indeed, the best in the world.
The best zoos in American, and the world, no longer resemble warehouses with bars. And more to the point, they are vigorous participants in the cultivation and preservation of our planet's animal life. This participation often entails facilities and missions for research and enterprise that contributes to preservation of the natural habitat of such animals in the wild.
The result of these mission defining initiatives is a symbiosis: the lessons learned about optimum wildlife habitat preservation enables more rigorous habitat design within the modern zoo. This creates an environment far better suited to the zoo's animals. The result is a greatly more stimulating and rewarding experience for everyone involved.
As zoo animals have the experience of living in environments more closely fit with their evolved dispositions, their natural liveliness is invigorated. This leads to animals with energy and curiosity. Such animals are active and involved with their environment and each other.
The results of this are animals that are far healthier both psychologically and physically. Additionally, this more natural environment is a richer and more profound experience for zoo visitors. The animals' rejuvenated energy and vitality - stimulated by living in conditions so much better fit to their evolutionary needs - results in the opportunity to observe animals that are animated and present.
And of course since the action of the animals is now well suited to their natural environment, the zoo is an educational experience in a far more complex and deep way than the stand-and-gawk zoos of my youth.
This concern for a more natural habitat generally results in greater ranges for the animals. The challenge then can become one of managing to get zoo visitors to the animals without disrupting the benefits of the improved habitats. Innovative zoo keepers have solved this problem with the application of new organizing principles and technology. Notable among these have been development of solutions such as monorails, safari tours and walk through zones.
To identify the best zoos in America , or anywhere in the world, then, it all comes together into a cohesive whole. The conservationist agenda, the new expansive facility designs, the applications of leading technology, in the hands of the most deft zoo keepers and their support staff, have blossomed into a zoological renaissance.
This renaissance has provided the opportunity for zoo visitors to experience foreign and exotic animals in a context both rich in learning opportunities and powerful in exotic wonder. The modern zoo can inspire in us a profound awe in nature's wonders, while offering the extraordinary opportunity to commune with other forms of life: forms of life that, though different from us, as the inevitable consequence of a shared evolutionary legacy, also in an uncanny way captures some common thread.
This it seems to me is the real miracle of the best zoos in America and anywhere: they facilitate a marriage of science and technology to inspire in us an experience of the sublime.
About the Author:
Mitchell Jone's top five list of the best zoos in America is required reading if you're organizing a family trip around a zoo adventure. And, please enjoy our YouTube video .
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