Quote:
Originally Posted by NORTY FLATZ
What we humans call "enclosures" for animals, we call "solitary confinement" for fellow humans.
At least we have San Diego's Safari Park. It's not perfect, but it's significantly better than a zoo....
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The San Diego Safari Park/San Diego Zoo are simply two different "store fronts" for the same entity with the same overarching mission/purpose. Some animals are better suited to a more open enclosure format than others.
There are species so vulnerable they can't be exposed to risk from inter-animal competition, disease, stress, physical accident, even predation from native S California predators (hawks, coyotes, owls, feral cats and dogs, some deranged human) they can't be housed safely in those wide open paddocks. California condor is just one example. San Clemente loggerhead shrike is another, but unfortunately for it, it gets a lot less publicity. Every single bird is biologically precious, irreplaceable. The San Diego Zoo, along with support by the US Navy, has been the critical player in re-establishing a tiny wild population of these CA endemic birds.
Also consider that the species you see in those communal enclosures are
prey animals, not
predators. Realistically, you can't house predators with prey long term no matter how well they're fed, especially if they are permitted to breed...unless you want to provide your visitors with a truly "immersive" real world experience that includes some unpleasant surprises.
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