The King

Lincoln Park Zoo is located within walking distance of my apartment. Its proximity means that I go there often; it marks the midway point of a good walk. Lincoln Park Zoo is open year round and is free. Lincoln Park Zoo

The zoo was founded in 1868, making it one of the nation's oldest zoos, but it's also one of the most modern. I always enjoyed going to the zoo when I was a child, but now I have a great deal of ambivalence about caging wild animals. My gut response, from observation, is that I think it's a bad idea. It's just painful to watch an animal, like a polar bear, reduced to levels of boredom that are manifested in repititous bodily movements. Even a state of the art containment pen can't provide what the natural habitat for these animals provides for them.

The argument in favor of zoos would point out the educational possibilities the wild animals provide to a public eager to view them. Since the 60s there has been more of an environmental awareness, and with that awareness came a movement against zoos. Zoo keepers have responded by becoming more environmentally aware themselves and now argue a conservation stance, that they provide a haven, or oasis, for the animals and save them from the ravages of a planet that is facing overpopulation, pollution, and destruction of natural habitat. They may have a point; a self-fulfilling human point, but a point, nonetheless.

I started wondering about the history of zoos. Who was the first person who had the impulse to keep a wild animal and attempt to take care of it? I look at the lions and tigers (okay, and bears, oh my!) and can't help but wonder why anyone would want to spend their days keeping these animals penned up. For a brief look at the history of zoos I recommend this site:
A Brief History of Zoos