Using first-person stories and approachable scientific reviews, this volume explores how zoos conduct and support science around the world.

This book summarizes a range of psychological research into how zoos and aquariums operate in the minds of visitors and the broader public. Bringing together core findings from emerging international research, the book provides data-based summaries that situate the content in the larger context of how cultural institutions shape public understanding. The focus of this book is to bring into a single resource, the major strains of research that have explored how zoos and aquariums are situated in public consciousness, to ground the discourses around what zoos and aquariums do in the empirical data and evidence, and to find opportunities to summarize well-established fact to support future research expanding on the known. Among the topics discussed: History of zoo and aquarium development The role of zoos and aquariums in environmental literacy Empathy development at zoos Applying behavior change theories to the zoo visitor’s experience Social radiation of ideas from cultural institutions Professional practitioners, zoo industry professionals, and business leaders will find this book an invaluable guide to the psychological literature surrounding the zoo industry.

This book situates zoos as trusted cultural institutions with valuable affordances for engaging people in natural resource conservation.

Wild animals have been housed in zoos and aquariums for 5,000 years, fascinating people living in virtually every society. Today, these institutions are at a new milestone in their history. This second edition of Zoo and Aquarium History takes the reader on a journey through the transition of private collections to menageries, to zoos, then zoological gardens, and more recently conservation centers and sanctuaries. Under the direction of Vernon N. Kisling, an expert in zoo history, an international team of authors has thoroughly updated the only comprehensive, global history of animal collections, menageries, zoos, and aquariums. The resulting book documents the continuum of efforts in maintaining wild animal collections from ancient civilizations through today, explaining how modern zoos have developed their mission statements around the core aims of conservation, education, research and recreation. This new edition pulls together regional information, including new chapters on zoological gardens of Canada, Latin America, China, Israel, the Middle East, and New Zealand, along with the cultural aspects of each region to provide a foundation upon which further research can be based. It presents a chronological listing of the world's zoos and aquariums and features many never-before published photographs. Sidebars present supplementary information on pertinent personalities, events, and wildlife conservation issues. The original Appendix has been expanded to include over 1,200 zoos and aquariums, providing an invaluable resource. This is an extensive, chronological introduction to the subject, highlighting the published and archival resources for those who want to know more.

Zoo Animal Welfare thoroughly reviews the scientific literature on the welfare of zoo and aquarium animals. Maple and Perdue draw from the senior author’s 24 years of experience as a zoo executive and international leader in the field of zoo biology. The authors’ academic training in the interdisciplinary field of psychobiology provides a unique perspective for evaluating the ethics, practices, and standards of modern zoos and aquariums. The book offers a blueprint for the implementation of welfare measures and an objective rationale for their widespread use. Recognizing the great potential of zoos, the authors have written an inspirational book to guide the strategic vision of superior, welfare-oriented institutions. The authors speak directly to caretakers working on the front lines of zoo management, and to the decision-makers responsible for elevating the priority of animal welfare in their respective zoo. In great detail, Maple and Perdue demonstrate how zoos and aquariums can be designed to achieve optimal standards of welfare and wellness.

Scores of wild species and ecosystems around the world face a variety of human-caused threats, from habitat destruction and fragmentation to rapid climate change. But there is hope, and it, too, comes in a most human form: zoos and aquariums. Gathering a diverse, multi-institutional collection of leading zoo and aquarium scientists as well as historians, philosophers, biologists, and social scientists, The Ark and Beyond traces the history and underscores the present role of these organizations as essential conservation actors. It also offers a framework for their future course, reaffirming that if zoos and aquariums make biodiversity conservation a top priority, these institutions can play a vital role in tackling conservation challenges of global magnitude. While early menageries were anything but the centers of conservation that many zoos are today, a concern with wildlife preservation has been an integral component of the modern, professionally run zoo since the nineteenth century. From captive breeding initiatives to rewilding programs, zoos and aquariums have long been at the cutting edge of research and conservation science, sites of impressive new genetic and reproductive techniques. Today, their efforts reach even further beyond recreation, with educational programs, community-based conservation initiatives, and international, collaborative programs designed to combat species extinction and protect habitats at a range of scales. Addressing related topics as diverse as zoo animal welfare, species reintroductions, amphibian extinctions, and whether zoos can truly be “wild,” this book explores the whole range of research and conservation practices that spring from zoos and aquariums while emphasizing the historical, scientific, and ethical traditions that shape these efforts. Also featuring an inspiring foreword by the late George Rabb, president emeritus of the Chicago Zoological Society / Brookfield Zoo, The Ark and Beyond illuminates these institutions’ growing significance to the preservation of global biodiversity in this century.

As one of the world's most popular cultural activities, wild animal collections have been attracting visitors for 5,000 years. Under the direction of Vernon N. Kisling, an expert in zoo history, an international team of authors has compiled the first comprehensive, global history of animal collections, menageries, zoos, and aquariums. Zoo and Aquarium History: Ancient Animal Collections to Zoological Gardens documents the continuum of efforts in maintaining wild animal collections from ancient civilizations through today. Although historical research on zoos and aquariums is still at a rudimentary stage, this book pulls together regional information along with the cultural aspects of each region to provide a foundation upon which further research can be based. It presents a chronological listing of the world's zoos and aquariums and features many never-before published photographs. Sidebars present supplementary information on pertinent personalities, events, and wildlife conservation issues. As an overview of the current state of our knowledge, Zoo and Aquarium History: Ancient Animal Collections to Zoological Gardens provides an extensive, chronological introduction to the subject and highlights the published and archival resources for those who want to know more.