Tigers, Rhinos, and Elephants—Oh my!

It has been months since I last visited the zoo, but though Friday was cool, it was fair, so I decide to go there for my daily walk. The animals were alert rather than asleep as they usually are when I visit during the summer. Observing them was more interesting. At my first stop, a tiger was walking around his compound rather than sleeping under a covering near the back. He walked in circles, coming toward and away from me. The animal was handsome and looked to be well cared for. He put a smile on my face, but also pulled at my heartstrings.

Tigers are among the favorite animals visitors seek out when visiting zoos. But viewing them in captivity always makes me wonder if it is fair to keep them locked up. Most zoo animals don’t require as much space as tigers who like to explore. I wondered what this powerful beast thought about while paced instead of running wild in nature. It wouldn’t be about catching his next prey for his food was provided.

About 300 tigers are in U.S. zoos. Another 4,700 are in private backyards and private breeding facilities.Only 3,500 remain in the wild. In East and Southeast Asia, nearly 8,000 live in tiger farms where they’re being raised for their skins and body parts.

Should they live as captives or be left to survive as they can. Unguarded, they are losing ground to poachers and loss of habitat. Zoos have breeding programs to preserve the species. WildAid, a conservation group to preserve threatened animals, thinks zoos are valuable.”Zoos play a positive role in sensitizing people to conservation…the actual experience of seeing a physical animal is nothing like seeing one on a TV screen.”

Born Free USA, believes otherwise. They write that “the tiger is a perfect example of the way that zoos are missing the point about conservation. Money spent on zoo tigers should be redirected to protecting habitat for aid tigers if we want the real thing to survive and not just a shell of the beast we call the tiger.”

The question, of course, is where is there enough habitat to let them roam free? The only place they are doing well is in Eastern Siberia, an area sparsely inhabited by human beings.

Until we find open areas for them to roam, zoos will have to do. As good caretakers, we must ensure their happiness and well-being. Tigers need larger enclosures with greenery and things to play with. At the Minnesota Zoo, tigers are given fake carcasses-fake moose they have to wrestle with in order to get the meat inside. They love it.

Further on, I saw another first when a rhinoceros started running.ru The guide said they can run thirty-five to fifty miles an hour, as fast as a horse. This particular rhino was pacing anxiously for his mate to be brought to his pen. But his caretakers are hesitant, wanting to make sure the resulting calf arrives in warm weather sixteen months later Poor Daddy Rhino lost his free will when it comes to sex.

Rhinoceros in cave paintings show\ a time when they roamed through Europe, Asia, and Africa. At the start of the 20th century, there were 500,000 rhinos, a number that dwindled to 27,000 today. Few survive outside of national parks and reserves. Three species are critically endangered. Prized for their horns in Asian countries, they are prey to hunters for their medicinal powers and status symbols of wealth. Those using rhino horn to cure ailments really believe it works. Tens of thousands of people worldwide have died because of mistaken beliefs according to Save the RHINO, a non-profit organization. Zoos are praised for bringing back the white rhino after it was considered extinct.

As my stroll continued, I didn’t want to miss my favorite—the elephant. Fifteen years ago, I spent time at a Kenyan wildlife preserve researching elephants in the wild.  It was exciting to see young elephants climb over one another at play and watch their mothers scold them if they ran off. They spent a great deal of time around pools hydrating themselves and would then roam as much as 50 miles in a day, Female elephants sleep in a circle with their babies in the middle. After 45 minutes to two hours, the matriarch starts them on their next trek. They need to walk for the soles of their feet act as pumps circulating blood to the heart.

Do they belong in Zoos? Critics say they are never given enough space to be housed properly but proponents believe they are better off in captivity than in the wild where they are decimated by disease, drought, habitat loss, poaching, and conflicts with people. The debate is a complicated tug of war. In 1971, 1.3 million wild African elephants were alive, while today there are fewer than 500,000. In the wild, they travel in kinship groups while in zoos, babies are often separated from their mothers and sent to other facilities. Advocates say funds would be better spent by supporting wildlife preserves in their native lands rather than building costly outdoor and heated indoor facilities with concrete floors that foster foot infection.

My thought is that zoos are wonderful assets to a community when their prime concern is the well-being of the animals and not those who come to gawk.  The animals may be more difficult to see if they are given adequate space but that will help people feel like they are on a safari. As guest visitors to the natural world, they will better understand what it takes to be a caregiver and why animal habitats should be preserved.

References:

World Wildlife Fund website.  5 things Tiger King Doesn’t Explain about Captive Tigers. retrieved from https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/5-things-tiger-king-doesn-t-explain-about-captive-tigers

McCarathy,S. (2008) Tigers don’t belong in Zoos, But where can they go? Salon. retrieved from https://www.salon.com/2008/01/05/tigers/

Save the RHINO website. https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino-info/threats/poaching-rhino-horn/#:~:text=Rhino%20poaching%20is%20being%20driven,to%20display%20success%20and%20wealth.

Shaw, E.(2017)How fast Does a rhino run? Sciencing. retrieved from https://sciencing.com/how-fast-does-rhino-run-4586507.html

Cohn, JP (2006) Do elephants Belong in Zoos. Oxford Academic. retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/56/9/714/262884.

Adminisrators (2020) Let Sleeping Elephants Lie—How Elephants Sleep! HERD. retrieved from https://herd.org.za/let-sleeping-elephants-lie-how-elephants-sleep/

Please share your thoughts about zoos. Should animals be kept in captivity or not? Comment below.

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The Rhino is a 30” by 22” acrylic painting on canvas, $495.