Zoos Inspire People

by Michelle Michael

As I'm sure is true for most of us, I have felt conflicted about zoos since I was a child. I see them now, in light of my studies at UWSP (especially with my Captive Wildlife minor), as an important piece in the fight for widespread and successful conservation. 

I never saw zoos as simply family entertainment, like going to the movies. I saw them more as a mini pilgrimage for each visitor, like gravitating toward your favorite part of a museum, studying the dioramas and reading every plaque, and trying to understand something greater than yourself. I saw that the species I admired most came from every continent, every habitat type, and lived next to every kind of people. It made the world seem smaller. Improving it seemed within reach, and I wanted to be a part of that. Everyone's journey toward doing something for the environment is different, and not everyone who cares makes it their career, but I am saying that the way zoos inspire people is unique and can definitely be used. 

As an institution, zoos are a bit like hunting. Animals make small sacrifices on the whole, people feel some benefit, and at the end of the day, a percentage of the people feel motivated to take some environmentally positive action that will benefit animals as well. However, hunters support things like biological studies and habitat preservation more or less automatically when they are taxed on the equipment they buy, and the benefits are felt more locally. With the price of admission, zoogoers automatically contribute to nothing more than the upkeep of the zoo they are visiting. Some people are happy paying the bills for just one particular giant panda, in exchange for learning her name. But many would like to do more, and understand more. I think some of the best improvements in zoo design include an outlet for that desire. 

This includes donation boxes where recently impassioned world citizens can help various projects without having to actually become, say, a WWF scientist, lawyer, or expert. It includes displays or even videos of what people in the field of conservation are doing, and this helps foster a sense of connectedness between the wildlife expert and the concerned layperson. This is one of the most important pieces in the conservation puzzle, in this Pointer's opinion. 

Another outlet is information about exactly what they can do themselves. Being preached at never works, but when people already know they want to change, information is all they need to start.

The Milwaukee County Zoo, for one small example, has a display directly next to the orangutans about deforestation and the palm oil trade in Indonesia. The intention to buy fewer products made with palm oil is easily internalized when the motivation for it is playing on fire hose swings right in front of you. Wait until these same people go home to sleep and work, and then try to first tell them about palm oil. They won't be in the mood. 

That's what zoos are good for. People go because they already like animals. With the right communication, what they take home can be much more profound.