History of animal enclosures

History of animal enclosures
20-11-2008

Hi guys,

I was just wondering if there are any decent websites that you could recommend that has brief history of how animals were kept in the past to the present.....am i right in saying animals kept in small cages progression to pits and now more naturalistic designs? What do you all think the future holds for animal enclosures at zoos, im interested to know.

Thanks

JW

20-11-2008

I don't know of any websites but the book "Zoo - A History of Zoological Gardens in the West" is really interesting and gives very detailed information on the progression of zoos.

I think that in the future the morals of zoos will merge with those of safari parks. The trend seems to be that enclosures are getting bigger and i think this will continue. Therefore the only way to see the animals up close will be if the visitor enters the enclosure, thus the african safari and jungle river cruise are invariably going to become a more popular means of exhibition because they A) provide more space for the animals. B) give the visitor better viewing capabilities and C) make the visitor feel more immersed in the environment.

20-11-2008

no websites that i know of
but i do know that for elephants and Black rhinos at london concreat paddok moat
bristol
black rhinos, not to bad actually
Eles no moat but not much better than londons

20-11-2008

Wasn't Bristol's rhino enclosure stupidly small?
Most zoo's have realised they can't keep most animal species, such as Bristol and London with eles. And cat-man is right, normally every enclosure used to be concrete, purely because it was easy to clean... So glad zoos have moved on

20-11-2008

Here's a small lead: Milwaukee County Zoo

I'd say animals bagan in pits (bears!), moved up to cages, by 1905 were getting out of cages slowly. I don't think much has REALLY changed for animals enclosures since then (keepers added enrichment, designers added landscapes for visitors, holding areas were improved for some species, but all in all today's best new exhibits are Hagenbeck 2.0).

So what is next?
Here's Jon Coe's vision: http://www.joncoedesign.com/pub/PDFs...yHouse2007.pdf

Here's Michael Graetz's version: History of Zoos

black rhino enclosure at Bristol
24-11-2008

Wasn't Bristol's rhino enclosure stupidly small?

It was very small but not "stupidly" small. No one would build such an enclosure for rhino in the UK today, but the design then was considered a solution to keeping a difficult species, and it was successful in the fact that they not only bred Black rhino for the first time in the Uk there but continued to breed. The female was placid enough to allow a keeper to milk her and the analysis of the milk almost certainly added to the knowledge that has helped rear other captive-bred rhino and wild orphaned animals. Outside the animals were enclosed behind a low wall and it is possible that, as the animals could not easily see people at their eye level , they felt more secure. Certainly a small and sterile enclosure is easier to observe and keep clean and diet is restricted to what the animals are fed and not to what they can find to eat. Access to a lot of grass, as is often the case in large paddocks, may not be to the long-term benefit of these browse feeders.

24-11-2008

Aahh...

Just to say: many older menageries were cages, but its not so simple. Many old animal collections were semi-free collections of magnates or kings, with space comparable to modern safari parks. And trend towards naturalism in modern zoos (attributed to Hagenbeck of Hamburg) is not exactly "new" - its around 100 years old.

This dreaded book mentioned above gives you some old pictures of zoos, but its not good book. As expected from historians who know nothing about animals which they supposedly pity.

BTW:
There is an old book about zoo history, which has many the same pictures as in "Zoos - history of zoological gardens in the west", but is infinitely more detailed and better. It was published in 1970s. It also has several predictions about future zoos. Curiously, some became true, like Pleistocene zoo which only now is being realized by San Diego. Book unfortunately, is only in Polish: Karol Lukasiewicz, "Ogrody zoologiczne - wczoraj, dzis, jutro" (zoological gardens - the past, today, tomorrow"). The author was long-time director of Zoo Krakow and zoo historiam. If, in the age of scanners and translating programs, somebody can make it avialable in English, it could be the best zoo history book on the market.

24-11-2008

Jurek,

You've mentioned these earlier pre-Hagenbeck examples before. I'd appreciate hearing more about the what and where and when!

24-11-2008

WOW now thats allot or great information to read up. The book list from Milwaukee County Zoo is great. Thanks matey.

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Stuart R Webster
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24-11-2008

Zooplantman,

My zoo history books are 1000km from me. From what remember, it began already in pre-industrial times. Less violence-oriented creations of Romans, Chinese, Persian and pre-Columbian American rulers had things which can be only described as artificial landscapes and environmental enrichment. They were not called so, but their designers clearly discovered and understood the concept. Some West European nobility had semi-free exotic animals on their estates - exotic deer, antelope, birds, wild cattle. Sometimes tame animals of dangerous species (as we consider them now) were included. And there were other things. One of ancient rulers even had huge walk-thru bird house with big pond, vegetation and exotic birds. Something which was reinvented only in 20. century.

I don't want to mix up names and places, but there MUST be good zoo history books around...

If I understand, zoos in ancient times were curious mix - next to cramped cages and brutal animal fights were examples of very modern thinking and design (some non-european ruler known for his violent wars established zoo open for public with aim of teaching about animals). There were even examples which 21. century would consider too difficult or expensive to replicate today.

25-11-2008

Interesting to hear what you think about my book. Having few others on the zoo history field i can not compare it to anything but i suppose if you have, then you can give a better analysis.

I didn't know the extent of the ancient zoos' acheivements but another book "Zoo 2000 A look beyond the bars" gives some interesting, albeit brief, information on these (or do you hate that book as well).

25-11-2008

Although he is not well liked by some members of this forum, David Hancocks has written two very good books on zoos which include interesting historical analysis:

Animals and Architecture (1971)--out of print
A Different Nature: The Paradoxical World of Zoos and Their Uncertain Future (2001)

25-11-2008

Funny, I've had that book on my shelf for years and forgotten it. I'll have to take it down and have a look!

25-11-2008

Sorry, I didn't want to be personal. But if I remember well, German edition of "Zoos, a history of zoological gardens of the West" has walrus photo labelled as elephant seal on the front cover. Its bound to be criticised, right?

(Zooplantman - I'm not sure if you understood me. I was advertising Polish book, not "Zoos, a history of zoological gardens of the West").

I know "Zoo2000" by Jeremy Cherfas, both TV programma and a book. It is funny, not aiming to be any authoritative overview of zoos, full of enthusiasm towards animals and zoos and good to read.

I don't know either of these: Animals and Architecture (1971) and A Different Nature: The Paradoxical World of Zoos and Their Uncertain Future (2001). Must look for them on some online bookstore. If you are interested in a history of zoos, book from 1971 is not outdated, right?

25-11-2008

By Eric Baratay and Elizabeth Hardouin-Fugier

Originally published in French

Same book? (well, maybe yours is 1000km away!)