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Rama Al-Halabieh Professor Mattern English 1AH 15 November 2022 The term "zoo" first appeared in the 19th century and was used to shorten the phrase "zoological garden," which refers to a collection of various animal species that have been acquired from the wild. They were developed for a variety of purposes, including study, instruction, conservation, and recreation. Zoos are typically thought of as an alternative for the animals to a natural habitat. For hundreds of years, zoos and animal parks have been a part of cultures all over the world. While concerns and issues about the ethical issues that zoos appear to impose were less common in the past, the rise of animal rights activist groups and new generational values have recently influenced how people view these parks. According to some zoo officials, zoos are an unnatural environment for animals, forcing them to live in captivity and harming their health. These ideas are well illustrated in Thomas French's nonfiction book, Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives , which describes how zoos attempt to preserve survival while constantly questioning the line between survival and confinement. The story begins in Swaziland, where French discusses Swazi elephant overpopulation and its negative consequences, such as habitat extinction. Elephant culls and poaching endanger the elephants. The game reserve's owners, Mick and Ted Reilly, had no choice but to kill some elephants or send them to American zoos. Elephant culls and poaching pose a threat to the elephants. Mick and Ted Reilly, the owners of the game reserve, had no choice but to kill the elephants or send
them to American zoos. They chose the latter, and eleven elephants flew for fifty hours from South Africa to the United States in the summer of 2003. The arrival of the Swazi elephants at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida, sparks debate among animal rights activists such as PETA about how the elephants were actually captured. They did, however, restore the zoo to its former glory, transforming it into one of the best in the country. The zoo is intended to be a place where humans can connect and learn about the outside world, as well as a place where animals can be saved from destruction. French provides detailed background information on several of the zoo's animals and staff members. Lee Anne Rottman and Carie Peterson are the passionate keepers of Herman, a chimp known as the zoo's king, and Enshalla, a tigress known as the zoo's queen. The CEO of the Lowry Park Zoo is Lex Salisbury, an ambitious character who expands the zoo by introducing new animals in order to both save them from extinction and entertain the public while raising funds to help the species. In the aftermath of Enshalla's escape and death, as well as the escape of the fifteen patas monkeys, he is eventually forced to resign because he is no longer deemed capable of running the zoo. Despite some of the negative accusations leveled against zoos, most people agree they are ethical because they help endangered species by relocating them to a safe haven away from poachers, habitat loss, starvation, and predators, have breeding programs for endangered species, or if individuals have difficulty finding mates and reproducing in the wild, zoos assist in wildlife rehabilitation, and accept exotic pets. Additionally, zookeepers are a great source of support for the animals because they go above and beyond to ensure their welfare and defend them from harm. For instance, French published this story to educate his audience about the remarkable traits and personalities of
communication with her former caregivers, which should help to understand why the traumatized elephant attacked Char-Lee in that manner. Fortunately, Lex's choice to change management practices spared the Swazi elephants from having to endure such violence. This approach promoted greater empathy for elephants because it relied on food rewards for good behavior rather than abusing and punishing the animals to get them to comply. Through the use of protected contact, elephants were able to live their lives unhindered by humans' attempts to control and dominate their species. Deaths and injuries for both subjects vanished despite a less close bond between the animal and its keeper. The new system demonstrates the zoo's desire for a more peaceful connection with its animals, which will be advantageous to them in the long run. Despite misgivings and accusations that it would fail, the park went above and above to safeguard the animals and staff. Thus, The Lowry Park Zoo knew to prioritize the protection of its animals over just jumping on the bandwagon, despite the fact that the new technology was still quite new and was not being used by many other zoos at the time. Moreover, zoos profit from having staff members who are so dedicated to caring for the animals because they raise money through contributions to upgrade their facilities, providing more funding for things like water, food, and medicine. One of the numerous staff members that is passionate about caring for the animals in Lowry Park Zoo is primate keeper Lee Ann Rottman. She is renowned for her love of chimpanzees. She was in charge of introducing a young chimpanzee named Sasha into the Lowry Park Zoo because she realized the animal required a mother to care for it and a place to call home. French goes into greater detail to explain her, “She was obsessed with protecting the species, especially the handful who lived at
Lowry Park. The notion that she would have agreed to put Herman or the other chimps at risk, just to pull in a few more dollars, was ludicrous” (French 182-183). Lee Ann's affection for the chimpanzees demonstrates that they are in good hands and that she will put their needs ahead of her own. When compared to zookeepers like Lee Ann, who put the needs of the animals before their own, it is much more likely that a cruel and unhappy zookeeper who hates working at the zoo would hurt or neglect an animal. Through her love, Lee Ann conveys that the locals view both humans and animals as equals and do not hold one to be more important than the other. These staff members give off the impression that the Lowry Park Zoo is a cheerful place with enthusiastic staff members who are eager to go above and beyond to make the animals feel at home. Lee Ann's eagerness to show up for work every day is unusual, especially considering that she and the other employees only get paid $7.50 an hour. This demonstrates the employees' selflessness in choosing to work with the animals; they are not there for the money. The fact that Lowry Park was able to hire those particular staff shows that they only work with the best people to take care of their animals. Similarly, Lowry Park is prioritizing animal care, as evidenced by the fact that it follows the "soft release" protocol. When keepers care for animals that are dependent on people because they have been injured, born with disabilities, or were born in captivity, French writes about this. Animals who heal and can live on their own are released back into the wild (French 25-26). This procedure shows how residents of Lowry Park actively help the animals recover from illness rather than just keeping them there for show. The necessity of zoos is demonstrated by the return of the animal to the wild. French explains, “Lowry Park would slowly nurse them back to health, pumping them full of antibiotics to fight infections, feeding them vitamins to help them build back their strength, even performing surgery when
