Life at the Zoo: Behind the Scenes with the Animal Doctors PDF
Preview Life at the Zoo: Behind the Scenes with the Animal Doctors
LIFE AT THE ZOO LIFE AT THE ZOO BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE ANIMAL DOCTORS Phillip T. Robinson COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex cup.columbia.edu Copyright © 2004 Phillip T. Robinson, DVM All rights reserved E-ISBN 978-0-231-50719-6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Robinson, Phillip T. Life at the zoo: behind the scenes with the animal doctors / Phillip T. Robinson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 10 0–231–13248–4 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 13 978-0-231-13248-0 (cloth : alk.paper) ISBN 10 0-231-13249-2 (pbk. : alk.paper) ISBN 13 978-0-231-13249-7 (pbk. : alk.paper) 1. Zoos. I. Title. QL76.R64 2004 590.73—dc22 2004043893 A Columbia University Press E-book. CUP would be pleased to hear about your reading experience with this e- book at [email protected]. CONTENTS Preface Introduction 1. Intern at the Zoo: An Eclectic Orientation 2. Too Early for the Autopsy: Fitting in at the Zoo 3. Growing Pains: Educating the Menagerie Makers 4. The Keepers: Nurturing the Health of Animals 5. Zoo Babies: Promoting Motherhood 6. Exhibit Making: Creating Zoo Ecosystems 7. Creature Comfort: The Power of Microenvironments 8. What’s This Thing? Searching for the Normal 9. Holding the Tiger: Zoos Say Yes to Drugs 10. Finding the Sick in the Zoo: Seeking Out Disease and Discomfort 11. Feeding the Ark: The Nutritional Wisdom of Animals 12. Getting Closer to Animals: Judas Goats and Alpaca Coats 13. So, You Work at the Zoo? Employees, Visitors, and Fence Jumpers 14. Animal Cases and Chases: And Some Things Better Kept to Myself 15. Zoo Regulars: Coworkers Without Titles 16. Ethical Captivity: Animal Well-Being in Zoos 17. What a Zoo Should Be, And Ought Not Be Annotated Bibliography of Selected Works on Zoos Index Photo Credits and Attributions PREFACE Z oogoing is one of America’s favorite pastimes. In fact, more Americans are reported to visit zoos and aquariums annually than attend all major professional sporting events combined, with present numbers approaching 140 million. Worldwide attendance at zoos and aquariums is estimated at 600 million people. The motives of zoogoers range from simple curiosity and amusement to educational and spiritual growth. Americans are fascinated with animals. This is clearly reflected in our annual expenditure of billions of dollars to purchase pets, supplies, and animal medical care. Cats, dogs, birds, ferrets, lizards, snakes, and tortoises have become common household companions for people, causing a huge growth in the pet industry worldwide. Television programs involving animals are at an all-time high, representing one of the most popular segments of the communications and television entertainment industry. Perhaps no area of veterinary science is as intimidating or demands as much versatility as the practice of zoo animal medicine. At times it requires a taste for the kinds of body slams, physical and mental, that might be found elsewhere only in the World Wrestling Federation. After all, zoos are made up of both animals and people—and people usually bring the most uncertainty to the running of a zoo. Quagga in London Zoo, 1870 The evolution of zoos is ongoing, at times painful, and fraught with some lingering anachronisms involving purpose and ethics. Along with the public’s growing awareness of environmental degradation and species extinctions, the expectations of zoos have risen steeply. In addition, animal welfare concerns have placed zoos under the public microscope, questioning the care and conditions of animals under their stewardship. Responding to these influences, the zoo profession has undergone a steady transformation over the past thirty years, changing many of its values, priorities, and programs. Given the global urgency to protect wildlife and wild places, some people look with optimism upon the capabilities of the new zoological gardens to help provide security for the survival of nature. The quagga, a now-extinct relative of the South African plains zebras, epitomizes a dwindling population of creatures that escaped the grasp of modern civilization. In 1873 the last, nameless, individual died in captivity at the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam, Holland. While the collective capacity of zoos and aquariums to offset the steady losses of animal species in the wild is far too small for the global problem at hand, zoos’ contributions to conservation biology are significant, and growing. Zoos have enormous potential to educate the public about environmental conservation and are collaborating in the field and the laboratory to help address problems of
Description:The list of books you might like
