Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Biodiversity and zoo conservation biology
- 2 Protecting species and habitats
- 3 Zoos in focus – public exhibition or conservation
- 4 Keeping animals in captivity
- 5 Viable captive populations – the numbers game
- 6 Captive breeding and zoos
- 7 Returning animals to the wild
- 8 Educating the public
- 9 Turning zoos into conservation centres
- Appendix 1 Commonly used abbreviations
- Appendix 2 Scientific names of species mentioned in the text
- Appendix 3 Inbreeding
- Appendix 4 Population sizes – definitions and implications
- Appendix 5 Captive breeding and genetics – definitions
- References
- Index
- Plate section
9 - Turning zoos into conservation centres
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Biodiversity and zoo conservation biology
- 2 Protecting species and habitats
- 3 Zoos in focus – public exhibition or conservation
- 4 Keeping animals in captivity
- 5 Viable captive populations – the numbers game
- 6 Captive breeding and zoos
- 7 Returning animals to the wild
- 8 Educating the public
- 9 Turning zoos into conservation centres
- Appendix 1 Commonly used abbreviations
- Appendix 2 Scientific names of species mentioned in the text
- Appendix 3 Inbreeding
- Appendix 4 Population sizes – definitions and implications
- Appendix 5 Captive breeding and genetics – definitions
- References
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
‘It is clear that we must mobilize our talents and arguments for conservation of biodiversity whether these are in the ethical, esthetic, social, cultural, economic, ecological, or environmental realms’
(George Rabb)Introduction
As declared by Mazur & Clark (2001), the ‘zoo’ is a monument to a ‘long-standing tradition of people's fascination with non-human nature’. Wild animals have been maintained in captivity since early societies to satisfy human curiosity with exotica, but most western zoos today now embrace far more munificent values. There is a declared intention by zoos to help solve the problem of worldwide declines in biodiversity, and transform them from ‘living natural history cabinets’ to conservation centres (Rabb, 1994; WAZA, 2005).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Zoo Conservation Biology , pp. 250 - 272Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011