Isle of Wild

For centuries, men have collected wild animals for sports, for display in menageries and travelling acts, or as displays of power and authority. 

 

The past century has brought many changes to the collecting, working, or display of animals.  

 

According to James Burnes, McNair graduate mentor and history of science graduate student, the first evidence of people collecting animals goes back as far as the pharaohs. 

 

"They've got archaeological evidence in Egypt from about 4,000 years ago — one of the pharaohs had hippos and cheetahs," Burnes said. "They think that's the first evidence of a zoo.

 

"King James kept tigers and big cats in the Tower of London. And to get in to see them you could either pay or you could bring a small dog to basically feed the lions. This was the same time when there were more bear pits than theaters in London, where people would go and watch bear baiting and dogs fight bears."

 

Burnes said the shift toward what today we think of as zoos happened in Germany when a man named Carl Hagenbeck Jr. began putting his collection of exotic animals in natural settings. 

 

"His father was a fishmonger in Germany, and he ran an exotic business on the side where he would bring in exotic animals and sell them to rich people around Germany and Hanover," Burnes said. "He gave his son a couple of seals and a polar bear, and Carl Jr. kept getting more animals and needing a place to put them — he was the first guy to actually put them in kind of a natural setting with moats, like we see at zoos now."

 

The biggest changes came in the 1960s when animal rights and conservation issues started to become popular. Zoos began to use more natural habitats to simulate the animal's environment, Burnes said, adding that many zoos have begun enrichment programs to stimulate the animals and keep them active in their habitats.

 

"Enrichment programs are a big thing now," Burnes said. "Houston did a thing with the cheetahs. They rigged up a pulley system with a little two-horse motor and put a fake rabbit or something on it. They would turn it on and it would zip across the paddock. The cheetahs would chase it, and they actually maintain their flexibility so their joints don't get stiff."

 

Rick Barongi, Houston Zoo director, said the natural settings and enrichment programs are very important to the animal's health and demeanor. He said that the zoo environments of the past were functional for exhibition, but were not always good for the health of the animal.

 

"We used to call them bathroom tile exhibits, because they were easy to clean and very sterile and small — but you could see the animals," Barongi said. "The gorillas would just sit there and sleep all day, and the lions would turn their back and pace. Now we put them on grass and give them natural shade and space. They even go inside at night — it is much nicer."

 

Barongi said the biggest advancement in zookeeping over the past few decades has been the quality of the staff.

"Before, it used to be old, retired guys who were more like janitors," he said. "Now almost everyone has a college degree. They really work with the animals throughout the day and give them enrichment."

 

Barongi said that while many of the zookeepers have degrees in various sciences, there is nothing like on-the-job training.

 

"You can't learn how to take care of an elephant, a rhino or a giraffe in college," he said. "They can teach you things out of a book, but that's very different from being in front of those animals. Or working with a tiger — this one, that is very nice, or this one, that is going to chew your arm off if you make one little mistake — it's different because they still are wild animals. You can't just be smart. You have to have common sense. You have to use intuition as much as the patience and the observation skills that you need, so you can read and so you can understand the animal and it can understand you."

 

Barongi said that the keepers spend time getting to know the personality and habits of the animals at the zoo.

 

"Every single animal is different than the next, but when you get into higher orders — the mammals, the intelligent animals, even the birds — each one has a unique personality," he said. "And they're not domesticated even though they were born in zoos. In most cases, they still have the wild — it's part of their genetics and it is hard-wired."

 

Barongi said that many of the animals come from breeding programs in cooperation with other zoos, and Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditted organizations. 

 

"Very rarely do you take animals out of the wild unless it is a rescue situation," he said. "There's often a misconception when I tell people that I am going to Africa, because they always think I'm going to bring back animals. No — I go to Africa for conservation reasons and to do tours. The vast majority of animals we have at zoos have been born at other zoos.

 

"We are one of 225 AZA-accredited zoos. There are probably a couple of thousand facilities in this country that call themselves zoos or something like that, but only 225 zoos and aquariums are accredited. The AZA has strict guidelines — ethical guidelines and welfare guidelines — and are being inspected by the USDA consistently."

 

Burnes said the breeding programs are designed to keep track of genetic lineages of animals.

 

"They have a genetic registry — it's like quarterhorse breeding, only with everything," he said. "Genetically-wise, it shrinks the gene-pool, but not as much as it would seem, because there are so many (zoos). They pick the top one percent of each generation. Hey, we'll trade you this for this, and it's on show, or it's lonely or whatever.

 

"The big thing with breeding programs, is that there are animals that have parental bonds, and that throws a big wrench into things. It's different when you have a baby gazelle or a baby antelope than when you have a baby orangutan."

 

Barongi said that the Houston Zoo aims to educate people about conservation while providing quality habitats and care for their animals. 

 

"Unfortunately, even the word ‘zoo' sounds like the word ‘prison' to some people," he said. "Philosophically, they think, even if it is a nice zoo, (the animals) would be so much better off in the wild — and in a perfect world, yes. But if you spend as much time as I do abroad, and you see the way elephants are getting slaughtered at 100 a day — and at 100 a day, when it comes down to the math, it's horrible. Did you know there are only 25,000-26,000 rhinos alive in the world today? There are only five species left. If it were seats in a football stadium, it would only fill half the stadium.

 

"People feel and think that everything is better in the wild. Well then, you'd better protect the wild. I think that seeing the real animal in a good setting inspires people to care."

 

Barongi said that in the spirit of education, the zoo offers free admission to Houston schools, as it has since the facility opened in1922. 

 

"Classes can come for free if they make a reservation in advance. We have all sorts of classes here and summer camp. Zoo camp has over 2,000 kids that come every summer for week-long classes with different age groups."

 

Barongi said the zoo is committed to conservation and hopes to inspire people to become involved.

 

For more information, visit www.houstonzoo.org.