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For other uses of the term Zoo, see Zoo (disambiguation) . A zoological garden or '''zoo''' is an institution where mainly Wild and Exotic animals are restricted within enclosures, bred and displayed to the public. The term zoological garden refers to the Biological Discipline Zoology , which derives from Greek ''Ζωο'' ("animal"), and ''λογος'' ("study"). The term was first used in 1828 for the '' London Zoological Gardens '', soon shortened by the Londoners to the abbreviation “zoo”. Most large cities in the world have zoos, though of drastically varying size and quality. Major zoos are important Tourist Attractions . More than 135 million people visit zoos in the United States and Canada every year, but most zoos operate at a loss and must find ways to cut costs. Many non-profit zoos, particularly institutions operating in Conservation Biology , Education and Biological Research , depend on public funding. AIMS Most of today’s non-profit and serious zoological gardens display wild animals not just for the amusement and the entertainment of their visitors but mainly for Conservation of endangered Species , for ''' Education ''' and Biological ''' Research '''. The concern of these institutions is to help save the Diversity Of Life on Earth through applied conservation activities such as breeding endangered species. In 1993 the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), formerly known as the International Union of the Directors of Zoological Gardens, produced its first conservation strategy. In November 2004 WAZA adopted a new strategy paper that sets out the aims and mission of zoological gardens of the twenty-first century: The breeding of endangered species is coordinated by special cooperative breeding programmes containing international studbooks and coordinators, who evaluate the roles of individual animals and institutions from a global or regional perspective. There are various regional programmes for the conservation of endangered species:
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HISTORY The predecessor of the zoological garden is the Menagerie that has a long history from the Middle Ages to modern times. The oldest still existing zoo, the Vienna Zoo in Austria , evolved from such an aristocratic Menagerie founded in 1752 by the Habsburg monarchy and changed its face as well as its mission throughout the centuries. The first zoo founded primarily just for Scientific and Education al reasons was the ''Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes'' in Paris (1794). The founders and members of the '' Zoological Society Of London '' adopted the idea of the early Paris zoo when they initiated and established London Zoo in 1828. The success of London Zoo set off a wave of further zoo establishments across the world. The first zoological garden established in Australia was Melbourne Zoo in 1861. In the same year the first zoo of the United States opened to the public in New York City ( Central Park Zoo ), although quite earlier, in 1859, the '' Philadelphia Zoological Society '' had made an effort to establish a zoological park, but delayed due to the American Civil War . References:
APPEARANCE Most modern zoos keep animals in enclosures that attempt to replicate their natural Habitat s. Many zoos now have special buildings for Nocturnal animals, with dim red Lighting during the day, so the animals will be active when visitors are there, and bright lights at night to ensure that they sleep. Special climate conditions are created for animals living in radical environments, such as Penguin s. Special enclosures for Bird s, Insect s, Fish es and other aquatic life forms have also been developed and are used in many zoos. A '' Petting Zoo '' (also called children's farms or children's zoos) features a combination of Domestic Animal s and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. Petting zoos are extremely popular with small children. In order to ensure the animals' health, the food is supplied by the zoo, either from Vending Machine s or a Kiosk nearby. In addition to independent petting zoos, many general zoos contain one within it. Many zoos have walk-through exhibits, where visitors enter enclosures of non-aggressive species, like Lemur s, Marmoset s, Birds , Lizards , Turtles etc. Visitors are normally asked to keep to paths, and animals are not tame. CRITICISM OF ZOOS Animal Rights activists disapprove of zoos as a matter of principle, because they interpret zoos as human domination over equal creatures and criticize their educational value as being superficial and useless. Animal Welfare groups however do not fundamentally reject the existence of zoological gardens, but they point to the often unnatural and controversial conditions of keeping animals in human captivity, particularly in small cages without any environmental enrichment. Indeed, several zoos are still keeping their animals under not acceptable conditions according to high animal welfare standards, especially those who are primarily commercially orientated and those who suffer from lack of money. The majority of the large non-profit and serious institutions with conservationist, educational as well as scientific orientation are permanently working to improve their animal enclosures, although it remains difficult to create acceptable and sizable artificial environments according to animal welfare for some special species (for example, Dolphin s and other Whale s). References:
SPECIAL ZOOS AND RELATED INSTITUTIONS Contrary to the classical zoological garden that displays the entire world Fauna , some special zoos concentrate on animals of certain Geographical regions, on animals of the water or attempt to exhibit their animals in a different way. Some of these institutions, mainly those who evolved from former Amusement Park s, connect entertainment elements with exhibiting live animals. Wild Animal Parks Wild animal parks are far more sizeable than the classical zoo. The first of this new kind of animal park was Whipsnade Wild Animal Park opened in 1931 in Bedfordshire , England . This park owned by the Zoological Society Of London covers 600 acres (2.4 km&2) and is still one of Europe 's largest wildlife conservation parks where animals are kept within sizeable enclosures. Since the early 1970s a 1,800-acre parcel (7 km&2) in the Pasqual Valley near San Diego also accommodates a remarkable new zoo, the San Diego Wild Animal Park that is run by the ''Zoological Society of San Diego''. Public Aquaria The first public Aquarium was opened in London Zoo in 1853. This event was followed by the opening of a number of public aquariums from 1853 to 1899 in Europe (for example, Paris 1859, Hamburg 1864, 1868, Berlin 1869, Brighton 1872) and the United States (Boston 1859, Washington 1873, San Francisco 1894, New York 1896). Numerous other public aquaria opened during the twentieth century. In 2005 the non-profit Georgia Aquarium with more than 8 million US gallons (30,000 m³; 30,000,000 liters) of marine and fresh water, and more than 100,000 animals of 500 different species opened in Atlanta, Georgia . The aquarium's notable specimens include Whale Sharks and Beluga Whales . Animal Theme Parks An animal theme park is a combination of an Amusement Park and a zoo, mainly for entertaining and commercial purposes. Controversially discussed, but even very popular especially in the United States are Marine Mammal Park s such as Sea World . This kind of animal theme park is a more elaborate Dolphinarium keeping further Whale species and containing additional entertainment attractions. Another new kind of animal theme park is 1998 opened Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida . This theme park established by the Walt Disney Company is similar to wild animal parks according to size (550 acres, 2 km&2), but different to intentions and appearance since it contains far more entertainment and amusement elements than the classical zoo. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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