Figure 1.--Here we see a scene at the Middlesex Fells Zoo Stoneham Children MDC picnic grounds in 1956. The press caption read, "Visitors to the Middlesex Falls Zoo in Stoneham are always pleased to find that MDC supervised zoo also had a picnic ground area. Here a group of youngsters and adults enjoy lunch after making a round of the zoo." The photograph was published July 1956. Zoos tiday do not encourage picnicing because food sales are a major revenue generator.

American zoos began to appear (1870s). The first American zoos were built in basic park style--they were knownn as zoolohical gardens like the zoos in Europe. There were a range o ways to obtain the animals: donations from the public, the commercial animal trade, and zoo-sponsored collecting expeditions. Thevprincipal purpose was public recreational exhibition. And the zi=ools looked like jails for animals. The exhibitions even had the look of jail cells with iron vars prominent for the animals. All of this followed the Europeamn pattern. The focus was on the visitor experience not the animal experiece. Over time we begin to see efforts being made to create more naturalistic enclosures. We begin to see this after World War I. But we still see jail like enclosures for some time. Over time this all changed. Zoos began focusin more on the animals and creating inviting living spaces for them. Collecting expeditions ended during World War II and were never resumed. Many Europoean zoos were destroyed in the Wae, including beloved animals. Adter the War, zoos begam returning to the original London Zoo purpose of scientific study. But now it us not just studying the animals. And as habitat began to disappera in the wild, zoos became involved with preventing wikd sopecies from goung extincr. Promoting reproduction becomes increasingly important, both to expand genetic dversity and to expand wild populations. Along with recreation, public educatio bhas become important. Over 200 zoos have opened in America and all have findamentally changed. They have not forgotton the visitoir experience. Creatiing naturalistic living spaces for the animals has enhanced the visuitior experiebces. Theu are becoming less and less like viusiting prisons which was actually rather depressing. All if this what modern zoos from menageries, circuses, and traveling exhibits of wild animals.

Created: 3:25 PM 10/15/2020
Last updated: 3:25 PM 10/15/2020