The good zoos
Modern
zoos, in your time, are very different to how they were in
previous times. Zoo
enclosures look like real environments, but now there is a
worry that because people can get so close to the animals,
they forget that they are wild, and think it is safe to be
close to them. Sometimes
people think they would like a wild animal as a pet, because
they look so cute. But a wild animal in captivity is not the
same as a domesticated pet like a dog or cat or
rabbit. It is
important that people shouldn't feed or pat zoo animals,
because it is teaching people that they shouldn't respect
animals, and the animals that they shouldn't fear and keep
away from people. Many
endangered species, such as the panda, are being kept going
by breeding programmes in captivity. The other important job
that zoos do is teaching people about the animals in their
care. Auckland
Zoo is a good zoo, and most of the animal enclosures there
are built so that the animals in them are happy and
healthy. They
don't have animals like polar bears, because it is too hot
here in Auckland, and the animals would not be
comfortable.
