The role of zoos in educating visitors about conservation of wildlife and habitats: a design for Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, Kansas (2024)

FAQs

What is the role of the zoo in education and conservation? ›

Zoos offer opportunities to educate visitors about habitat conservation through programs and activities, and the way individual habitats and zoos are being designed.

Zoos around the world actively participate in breeding programs for endangered species. By carefully managing genetic diversity and breeding pairs, the aim is to bolster populations of threatened animals in human care and share new information that can aid researchers that work with wild populations.

While every zoo is unique, common educational offerings include on-grounds programs, school presentations and online informational resources. For example, the Honolulu Zoo runs a camp program that immerses children in various aspects of the animal world.

Animals were kept in small display areas, with as many species as space would allow. Today, zoos are meant to entertain and educate the public but have a strong emphasis on scientific research and species conservation. There is a trend toward giving animals more space and recreating natural habitats.

AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums play a vital role in educating over 180 million visitors, including 51 million students, each year, about wild animals, their habitats, their related conservation issues, and the ways in which they can contribute to their preservation.

In 2022, most of the 238 zoos and aquariums accredited by the nonprofit Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) spent a collective $252 million on field conservation — efforts to protect and preserve wildlife habitats.

Zoos keep animals safe from starvation, predators, poaching, or any sort of illegal hunting. This is just one of many reasons why conservation in zoos is so essential. Some other ways zoos are saving animals from extinction is by having breeding programs.

Perhaps the most important addition to the new definition of the zoo is the fact that zoos are crucial in preventing extinction because they conserve animals and their habitats. In fact, with their breeding programs, one can define zoos as the new Noah's Ark.

Conducting, supporting, and funding research and conservation. Advocating for conservation and wildlife, funding, and science. Working with government agencies, universities, non-governmental organizations, and other partners to establish conservation initiatives.

Zoos do not educate nor do they empower or inspire children to become conservationists”. A 2010 government-commissioned report[2] raised concerns that, despite zoos promoting education programmes, there was little evidence of educational impact by the industry.

How do zoos benefit society? ›

Zoos engage in research, preserve biodiversity (genetic and species) that may be threatened or at times even extinct in the wild, and they provide much needed funding for research and conservation projects across the world.

Zoos protect against a species going extinct. A species protected in captivity provides a reservoir population against a population crash or extinction in the wild.

Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited (AZA) facilities are beneficial because of the high standards they exemplify in animal welfare, conservation, research, education, and recreation.

The purpose of zoos is conservation. They exist for the benefit of the animals, not the neck-straining public. A zoo's primary aim is to ensure that endangered species are maintained, researched and protected.

Depending on the type of animal they are, there are different habitats available. For example, there are large fish tanks at the zoo for large Amazonian fish and smaller fish tanks for smaller fish. Smaller animals are kept in tanks or areas closed in with clear glass so visitors can see them.

From their origins as enclosures for the mere entertainment of the public, these institutions have undertaken new functions responding to the biodiversity crisis and social demands. Modern zoos and aquariums have the opportunity to educate people, contribute to species conservation, and produce animal-related research.

Some ways that zoos can contribute to biodiversity include using captive breeding programs to prevent species extinctions; educating the public about lifestyle choices that influence biodiversity; and carrying out scientific research that helps make conservation programs more effective.

Regarding educational activities, 95% of the zoos reported using at least one type of person-to-person education strategy with their visitors.