Welcome back everyone! Today, we visit the last exhibit of this segment of our tour: the contribution of zoos via public engagement!
In today’s world, it is estimated by the United Nations that over half of the world’s population live in urban areas. With nature replaced by buildings, it is no surprise that people rarely have encounters with wildlife. In urban areas, zoos present the best opportunity for people to get close to animals, and to better appreciate them (because seeing the real thing is far more impactful than seeing it on TV).
The way I see it, zoos help to develop in visitors a sense of awe and appreciation for the animals. In doing so, visitors will be more inclined to contribute to conservation efforts, to protect the animals. A positive emotional experience – that is the sense of awe and connection to the animal – can motivate visitors to learn more about the animals, in turn raising their support for conservation efforts (Clayton et al, 2009).
Photo by me
This photo above was snapped by yours truly in River Safari, and it was an info board located at the end of the walk. In there, it mentions “we hope that you are inspired to learn more about freshwater ecosystems and care for them”. This suggests that providing that inspiration to visitors to be more concerned about the natural habitats of animals is one of the goals zoos aim to achieve.
Alas, there is a caveat: it may not create a lasting impact. Just as Marc Beckoff claimed, learning more about biodiversity does not necessarily translate to a better understanding of how one can contribute to conservation. Besides, it is entirely possible that visitors are simply at the zoo for entertainment, and leave the zoo with no new knowledge (with plenty of photographs instead).
Beyond just mere admiration of animals, zoos can also play a role in education, by collaborating with local schools. After all, learning is best when it starts young, and instilling in impressionable children a love for animals might inspire them to do more for conservation when they grow up.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) also has plenty of education and outreach programs. Besides having events catered towards schools, WRS also carries out events that engage the public, such as various guided tours that go more in depth in presenting information on the animals.
All in all, I feel like zoos can be a powerful tool of education. While it may have its limitations, I’m of the view that nothing gets started without exposure. Considering the enormous amounts of visitors zoos receive, they are a great way to at least expose people to biodiversity, and from there there is a potential to educate (Patricia G. Patrick et al, 2007). Perhaps at this juncture, zoos have yet to fully realize that education potential, but if zoos can maximize that potential, it will be very powerful.
That’s all for this portion of the tour folks, so see ya next time!
Cheers,
Jeng Wei
References:
Clayton, S., Fraser, J., & Saunders, C. D. (2009). Zoo experiences: Conversations, connections, and concern for animals. Zoo Biology, 28(5), 377-397. doi:10.1002/zoo.20186
hopeley September 27, 2020
Hi Jeng Wei,
It was really interesting to read your thoughts! I agree with you that education and raising awareness about biodiversity plays a crucial role in gaining more support for conservation efforts, and perhaps as well, instilling respect for biodiversity in young minds.
Not sure if you’ll be discussing this in your future posts, but reading your series about the Boon of Zoos (very catchy btw! haha) also brought to mind a certain conflict with regards to zoos. Some argue that keeping animals in captivity isn’t so beneficial, because it’s (1) unnatural, hence not allowing for observation of their natural behaviour (for visitors & researchers) and (2) cruel (many zoos are notorious for their terrible enclosure conditions and mistreatment of animals e.g. Sea World). This article by Nat Geo presented some findings on this (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/08/waza-zoos-accused-of-mistreating-animals-wap-report/).
These are difficult problems to tackle, especially because the title of “zoos” given to these zoos allow them to cover up their mistreatment practices (since many have positive impressions of zoos). I’m curious to know your thoughts!
– Hope 🙂
Jeng Wei September 28, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Hope!
Thank you for stopping by! I do plan to cover some of those topics in my future posts, which will be a series of posts detailing some of the criticisms of zoos (the most prominent of which include poor animal welfare and how it is unnatural, like you mentioned), and sharing my thoughts on them. I haven’t done much research into it yet, so I was rather surprised to see that in the link you sent (thanks for it too!), even some zoos accredited by the WAZA were accused of mistreating animals. If accredited zoos are guilty, I can only imagine what non-accredited zoos might be doing.
I do agree with you that this is a difficult problem to tackle, considering how it is impossible to monitor zoo treatment of animals 24/7, 365 days a year, and the massive manpower needed to enforce standards and check the zoos. That said, I think visitors can play a role in this, since they’re the ones who see the animals every single day, and can report potential mistreatment of animals. Proper accreditation processes may also be useful to ensure that the zoos operate in an acceptable manner (though there are limitations), but ultimately, it boils down to the management by zoos (are those in charge & staff truly there to care for the animals?). I’ll be discussing it more in a future post, so perhaps that will be a better answer to your question. In the meantime, thanks for the great question and I hope what I mentioned was sufficient (for now)!
Cheers!
Jeng Wei
hopeley October 12, 2020
Hi Jeng Wei!
Thank you for your prompt & very comprehensive reply! Glad to know you’ll be discussing these issues in your future posts, I look forward to reading more about it! Also, you’re welcome for the link, HAHA. All the best!
– Hope 🙂
Joanna Coleman September 30, 2020
Hi Jeng Wei,
Good post !
Can I ask… did you end up doing some primary research, e.g., visitor surveys / observation during your visit and, if so, do you plan on blogging about that ? I’m quite curious.
And can I challenge you on two statements ?
FIRST
“In urban areas, zoos present the best opportunity for people to get close to animals.”
May I respectfully disagree and get your take on what I have to say ? Assuming you’re referring to wild animals (and not pets), I argue that urbanites have, all around them, insects & other common species that they can get super close to. Personally, I feel much more in touch with Nature when I spot a mantis on a sidewalk, carefully pick it up and place it on vegetation (where I hope it will be safer) than when I see an animal in a zoo, which often, tbh, makes me sad.
SECOND
“The way I see it, zoos help to develop in visitors a sense of awe and appreciation for the animals.”
I totally understand and agree with this statement – but there are many authors who argue that one element of Nature deficit disorder (the growing fracture in the human-Nature relationship) is precisely this sense of awe. Meaning, as we increasingly interact with biodiversity through documentaries, the Internet and visiting zoos, we come to perceive biodiversity as something that is exotic and awe-inspiring instead of something that is all around us and essential to our own wellbeing. The result can be a sense of alienation. I’m not saying your idea is wrong, just that it’s worth asking whether we really want people to be awestruck by wildlife.
Pc of feedback “(Clayton S et al, 2009) – delete the initial on the 1st author’s name.
Jeng Wei September 30, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Dr Coleman!
Thank you for your comment! With regards to my trip to River Safari, the next post will be a reflection of my trip (I didn’t manage to do surveys, but I made some observations and reflected on what I saw during the trip). I wanted to get this post up first because some elements of this post will be discussed in the next one.
For the first statement, looking back, I realized it was rather vague and sweeping. Perhaps what I meant to say was that zoos are the only option when it comes to more charismatic species (elephants, lions, pandas etc). I do agree that we can observe and interact with many different kinds of animals even in urban areas, especially if there are pockets of nature (such as parks) available. I recall being fascinated and excited whenever I saw a kingfisher when I walked past the canal in the past; and even now I would stop to observe the various animals that I encounter along the road. I think that day-to-day interactions and encounters with animals may be the best way for people to stay motivated to protect them (because it can affect their daily lives?), but perhaps zoos can have a role as a call for action, where charismatic species can inspire people to take the first step. Of course, this is just my way of looking at it.
Regarding the second statement, I have actually never thought about it that way, so thank you so much for opening my eyes to that perspective! I think that the sense of alienation is sort of characteristic of an urban life, seeing as how most people who grew up in urban areas probably have little to no interaction with nature in their daily lives. I can definitely see how the sense of awe can lead to a detachment from nature, as animals – which are naturally all around us – are seen as rare, exotic encounters. I do think that, however, this sense of awe can lead to beneficial outcomes. Much like how having a role model we admire may inspire us to do more and attain self-improvement, I think that having this sense of awe can encourage an individual to do more. Perhaps this sense of awe can inspire them to learn more about animals, and the more they learn, the more they accept that animals are something that are very much a part of our lives, and not something to be completely amazed by with every encounter. Of course, if the sense of awe doesn’t lead to any fruitful actions then perhaps it will only further distance individuals from nature. For myself, watching animal documentaries have repeatedly shown me just how beautiful and unique the animals of our world are, and is very much the main reason why I chose to take BES, so that I can maybe learn more about how I can contribute to their conservation. Of course, all of these are just my thoughts and speculations, so hey I could be wrong.
Thank you so much for your comment Dr Coleman, and I hope I made a decent explanation on my perspectives!
Cheers!
Jeng Wei
Joanna Coleman October 8, 2020
Your reply is great !
Funny… I just had a look at Jia Wei’s most recent post, in which he discusses the overview effect (essentially the idea that creating awe & wonder can deliver positive environmental outcomes).
It’s a very interesting question to me – one that I think deserves further study.
Take a look at what he had to say…
https://blog.nus.edu.sg/jiaweisiaaa/2020/10/01/earths-a-movie-set-were-the-cast-part-2/
jc
Jeng Wei October 8, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Dr Coleman,
I looked through Jia Wei’s post too and it certainly seems as though what I described is similar to the “overview effect”, although that term is new to me. I guess the main difference is that instead of relying on technology to replicate the scenario to inspire individuals, zoos can potentially do so by letting visitors encounter animals in the flesh. Perhaps when more study is done in this field, then the benefits of the “overview effect” can be fully harvested, not just in the field of technology, but even in zoos too.
Cheers!
Jeng Wei