TERRA

Wild animals needs large quantities of space in
order to be healthy, so the ideal is that zoos
provide as much space as they can to simulate
their natural environment.However like said
before even in large spaces of enclosure wild
animals can develop this behavioural patterns,
especially big mammals that in the wild would
normally have a range of movement of thousand
of miles. Leopards for example, a solitaire big
cat known for moving thousands of miles they,
can’t be in a small enclosures and even worst
with another leopard.
Like said before there are few zoos that try to
provide a habitat as similar possible to the animal’s
natural habitat, and provide for its behavioural
and psychological needs. But even this good quality
zoos and all of the effort to provide a natural
environment, if the animals are not in their natural
habitats is obvious they will not be capable
of performing their natural behaviours. Most wild
animals kept in captivity, even in big zoos, develop
certain behavioural patterns that indicate their
needs are not being met and their stress. These
behaviours include pacing, bar-biting, circling, repetitive
head-swaying, aggression, Coprophagia
(Consuming and playing with excrement), excessive
grooming, vomiting, frequent licking and
self-mutilation.
These are known as abnormal repetitive behaviour
(ARB), and can vary depending on the animal
and the circumstances, some can be seen as laid
back and relaxed, like the pacing, and others can
be really frantic, like twirl repeatedly or non stop
biting. These neurotic and atypical behaviors occur
as a result of boredom, depression, frustration, a
lack of mental and physical enrichment, and removal
from their natural habitat and social structures
because in captivity, wild animals face challenges
for which they’re not prepare, many things
can be different even if the simulation of habitat is
good, zoos normally keep wild animals from many
parts of the world. So the climate, diet and the
size and characteristics of the enclosure may be
completely alien to the species as it exists in the
wild. Furthermore animals are no longer able to
have complete control over their environment because
they no longer rely on themselves in order
to obtain food or other physiological needs, but
they rely on humans.
As our knowledge is constantly increasing we now
understand many things about animal behaviour it
is important to address this knowledge into make
people understand that keeping animals in captivity
can, and does, cause immense mental suffering
to the species. Sure people can argue about
the importance of zoos to educate people about
all of the different species of animals out there
in the world. But even the best zoos can’t house
an animal maximizing the they will have their own
species behaviour and at the same time minimizing
their stress and induced behaviours, because like
it or not a setup environment will always be different
from the habitat in which animals evolved.
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