How WILD are zoo animals?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 มิ.ย. 2024
- Are captive animals really that wild? If they are used to people, can be trained and even breed with people watching, are they really as wild as we think they are? And if not, is there really any chance that they could one day be released to the wild?
REFERENCES
African Lion at Zoo Knoxville by Zoo Knoxville vimeo.com/374239786 CC by 3.0
Bright orange baby arrives at Zoo Knoxville for Silvered leaf langur family by Zoo Knoxville. vimeo.com/492527157 CC by 3.0
California Condor Release Overview by USFWS Pacific Southwest Region. flickr.com/photos/usfws_pacif... CC by 2.0
Drovers rest their horses and dogs by Archives New Zealand. www.flickr.com/photos/archive... CC by 2.0
Getting Red Wolves ready for the wild.mp4 by Zoo Knoxville. vimeo.com/750435445 CC by 3.0
LA PRÉHISTOIRE by patrick janicek, www.flickr.com/photos/marsupi... CC by 2.0.
Lascaux IV by Simone Ramella. www.flickr.com/photos/ramella... CC by 2.0
Lion Love match by Zoo Knowville. vimeo.com/552517986 CC by 3.0
Startled Silver Fox by Zoofanatic. flickr.com/photos/zoofanatic/... CC by 2.0.
Zoo Knoxville Stay Cool b roll by Zoo Knoxville vimeo.com/849138810 CC by 3.0
Zookeeper Appreciation Day by Zoo Knoxville vimeo.com/847419167 CC by 3.0
Additional Footage filmed at Hertfordshire Zoo
![อาจารย์ยอด : สวยกินคน [ผี]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_-TIJOwkRA4/mqdefault.jpg)
Essentially its the age old nature versus nurture debate.
Most Zoo animals have retained their wild behaviours pretty well I think. Though learned skills that are passed from mother to child have probably eroded a lot. However as zoos do not allow their animals to display the full spectrum of their behaviour, its impossible to tell how far eroded these behaviours are.
We know for example that a zoo lion still knows how to kill another lion from incidents. Violent takeovers and splits in coalitions still occur in zoos even when those animals have never been in the wild for generations so the behaviour is there. However, the social dynamics of lion society in Sabi Sands is far more complex than those in a enclosure and I doubt that a zoo animal would be able to integrate as easily as a relocated wild lion would.
Then again, there are also successful programs where animals were released back in the wild. Some even without any preparation and training.
So I guess it will highly depend on the type of animal, circumstances and skill and commitment of the organisation.
Great response! Hoping to delve further into this focussing on a specific species where I can go further into specific behaviours they’re lacking by talking to the people “on the ground” later in the year!
Great content. Your videos are very well made for the amount of views they get. You definitely deserve more.
I thought zebras were light hearted like Marty was from Madagascar 🦓
Or like zoey zebra from Peppa pig sadly they’re not
@@Autistic-Noice-Panda-2023 Oh yeah I forget and here baby sisters
@@TheIntelligentElephant71133 yeh and zu the zebra
Those foxes can’t be house trained. Deep inside they are still wild. But what amazes me is that pet reptiles are sometimes such attention seekers.
Thank you for a great video. I found your channel a couple of months ago, and your videos have made me think about zoos in different ways than I did before. Maybe in the future, you could talk about the history of zoos, or their ethical ramifications? I wish you many more subscribers!
Thanks for this! And thanks for the suggestion!
I totally forgot about Racing Stripes! Super informative video man 💪
thanks! And may you never forget it again!🦓
Great video and awesome thumbnail! I remember asking an educator at my local zoo which animal would be most dangerous if it escaped its enclosure and the answer was hands down the male zebra 😂 Would love to learn more about breeding for genetics in zoos and the important conservation work they do!
Hey thanks! I read one “statement” while researching that said they cause the most injuries to keepers in the US, but couldn’t verify that! That’s a good suggestion, I’ll keep it in mind!
I look back at Racing Stripes pretty fondly.
The heyday of cinema!
Great video 👍👍
Thank you 👍
While It Is Possible To Ride A Zebra As One Would A Horse, Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should.
This video reminded me about zoochosis and also made me think about humans
Humans are wild animals too, what enrichment would be best for our welfare? Like no we aren’t being kept in an enclosure by an outside force but the way society is structured might not be the best overall for human happiness (and also anyone who tries to reply and say that humans domesticated ourselves or something we really haven’t, we haven’t been purposefully bred for a trait for years by another species. We also don’t really display any of the traits associated with domestication like piebaldism. (Not that some humans don’t have piebaldism btw, it’s just not as prévenant. Humans generally still have ‘wild type’ markings, you also can’t really apply the other traits that come with domestication to people, the reason we have so many traits beneficial for social behavior is because humans are social animals.)
What are your thoughts on "tug of war" type activities in zoos? From what i can see they aren't great considering the only zoos I see doing it are in the UAE, China or are in the US and are basically amusement parks (other than one British one). I could see it being fine as long as food isn't involved and the guests are obscured from the animal so it doesn't see the guests as an enemy that's taking its food though, ideally emphasizing it as an educational tool instead of a way for the guest to brag or think of the animal as a beast.
Well strictly from a welfare point of view it is presumably a trained behaviour. Ie pull the rope and get a reward. Assuming I’m right in saying that, then food could absolutely be used as a reward. Reality is a person isn’t going to out-pull a tiger for example, but as a behaviour that’s trained, it would be the act of sustained pulling rather than “winning” which is rewarded. In training any behaviour you really break it down to the most basic behaviour. And training is itself a positive thing for welfare, in this case both mentally and physically.
As for “should you train it”. That will depend on the zoo. Given that the training could be mentally/physically positive would you be more comfortable if it only happened behind the scenes? There’s certainly some risks, damage to teeth etc which wouldn’t be present otherwise, but I don’t know enough about the setups to really assess that. From a public perception, I think some zoos will steer clear to present a more “natural” zoo experience. And actually I’ve seen tug of war setups without animals before, where you pull a rope attached to a box with a variety of different “strengths” and assigned animals. In this instance, showing the “power” an animal has doesn’t have to be a negative, just maybe not a priority for most.
nice
Thanks
interesting domestication fact.
Cats break almost every rule of domestication, ASIDE from a quick maturation rate.
Another fun fact
Us humans didn't *exactly* domesticate cates. THEY self domesticated or more accurately adapted to life with humans. Cats waltzed into our civilizations one day, and never left.
Given that zoo animals don't face the same threats as they would in the wild, they won't face the same collection pressures either. As such, oftentimes animals which would've died in infancy in the wild would live to adulthood in zoos- many times having offspring of their own.
This can mean that certain behaviors which are selected for in the wild aren't selected for in the same way in captivity- the biggest example being anti-predator behavior. A wild zebra with poor anti-predator behavior gets eaten, but in a zoo? It doesn't. That said- unless a species is part of a re-introduction program then I don't see this sort of change as being overly problematic. Most species will never be part of reintroduction programs anyways.
Yeah, this is a very good point. Not just behaviour either, genetically it will be true too. Something like disease resistance or lack thereof, which they may never encounter in captivity, but is prevalent in the wild could lead to a whole population of captive individuals being unsuitable for release.
While domestic animals tend to be more tolerant. Both domestic and wild tend to use the same level of force against a person as they would one of their own species if they are having a bad day.
1:25 African animals also evolved alongside humans especially humans hunting them and naturally do not like people very much
Zebras are also more closely related to asses than horses
absolutely, the evolution alongside people is certainly a factor. And the behavioural differences between zebra and asses, especially their breeding system is a big factor in the lack of domestication as you say!
I don't want to sound like some kind of karen, but the background music? sound? in some parts of this video set off my misophonia like crazy. Please reconsider using tracks with wet and crackly sounds for those of us with misophonia, it causes me pain and emotional distress.
Sorry to hear this, send me an email and I’ll sort out a private link to one without the music. Going forward I’ll try and keep this in mind. Cheers
misophonia is a bitch. You're not a karen.
(fellow sufferer)
Before I watch, let me guess the awnser, Not very. Most wild animals are bred in captivity to be more tame so there is no real way to have every zoos animals to be 100% wild.
As a keeper, I can confirm this is not the case. Animals, at least in the AZA, are bred for genetic diversity, not traits. Honestly, one of our biggest welfare goals is to encourage natural behaviors, and we take a pretty hands-off approach. Even training is really only done for the betterment of the animals, no "tricks."
No, that’s not even always true for domesticated animals (not all of which are bred for docility) let alone non-domesticated animals.