Zoos and Zoological Parks emperors as far back as 1150 BC had walled animal collections they called ‘‘parks of knowledge.’’ When Corte´s reached Mexico City in 1519, he witnessed, and then destroyed, the Aztec ruler Montezuma’s immense zoo and gardens Montezuma’s zoo was so large that 300 keepers were employed for the aviaries alone, and it even housed malformed humans as part of the collection Most of the zoological collections of antiquity were imperial and exclusive – symbols of wealth and power They were menageries in the sense that they were collections of living trophies to be managed Collections during Roman times were also for the amusement of citizens Large numbers of wild animals were used for blood sport and spectacles; holding areas that also allowed public viewing, called viveria, were associated with arenas After the fall of Rome, collections of wildlife were not so common in Europe During Europe’s Middle Ages, imperial menageries once again became more significant Wild animals were used as diplomatic gestures – as tributes and ceremonial gifts The roots of public zoos are somewhat contemporaneous with the emergence of Europe’s great cities London gained a zoo, of sorts, in 1252 when Henry III transferred his menagerie to the Tower of London; London’s citizens were pressed to support the menagerie, and in turn the public could view some of the animals, such as a polar bear and an elephant Urban menageries, under the sponsorship of merchants and other citizens, began to emerge, first in Frankfurt in the late 1300s, then in the 1500s at The Hague and in Augsburg The rising profile of zoos can be traced to the Renaissance, when trade and exploration brought more animals into Europe Colonial officers in far-flung empires served as conduits for animal requests Public interest was most piqued by the wildlife of Africa and the Far East The first zoological garden, which combined displays of plants and animals, was established in Versailles by Louis XIV in 1665; in 1794 this collection became a division of Paris’ natural history museum, creating a formal link to zoological research that was later emulated by many other zoos and museums The first ‘‘modern’’ zoo that survives to this day is probably the Schoănbrunn Zoo in Vienna, originally established as a private collection in the 1770s, but to which the public were intermittently admitted The nineteenth century has been hailed as the century of science and the golden age of museums This century witnessed an explosive increase in the numbers of zoos and museums Scientific societies sprang up, including zoological societies Zoological research was nominally based in nineteenth-century zoos, but the inquiry was mostly limited to collecting and classifying Local governments tended to operate zoos of this era with the aim of providing recreation and edification for the increasingly better-educated citizenry that arose with the Industrial Revolution Zoos were sources of civic pride, and they competed to exhibit as many kinds of animals as possible The rise of print media made it possible for civic leaders to compare collections more readily with rival zoos Natural social groupings were largely ignored, and frequently solitary animals were displayed Generally species were grouped to correspond with scientific classification, for instance, into bird, reptile, or carnivore houses These animal collections were viewed as analogous to collections of art, and even the zoo architecture of the period came to be considered art 471 An innovation at the beginning of the twentieth century was habitat exhibits, as pioneered by Carl Hagenbeck at Tierpark, outside Hamburg, Germany In these zoos of living panoramas, it became increasingly common to display animals along geographic lines rather than strictly taxonomic ones Habitat exhibits were well suited to zoo designs that intended to teach ecological principles, and thus led to the display of animals in more natural social groupings Eventually mixed-species exhibits became more common, and these conglomerations might even be grouped by ecological biomes such as ‘‘polar zone’’ or ‘‘tropical zone,’’ rather than along strictly geographical or taxonomic lines Later in the twentieth century, world culture became increasingly electronic and graphic Zoos found themselves in competition with wildlife film documentaries No longer would the animal displayed in a sterile cage suffice for an increasingly sophisticated audience ‘‘Immersion’’ exhibits became the ideal for most new zoo development Immersion exhibits are ones that seek to make visitors feel that they are in the habitat with the animals This may be accomplished by incorporating the same details of rocks, logs, or plants into both the animal and the public space, using these same details to hide any cage elements, and also by special effects such as mist machines and animal call background soundtracks that help create an illusion Barriers to separate animals and people may be relatively invisible (e.g., glass) or carefully placed so they are unobtrusive Special feeders and techniques of animal management may be used to encourage animals to be active and visible – for example, hidden heating or cooling pads for animals to lounge on, depending on season, or feeders that intermittently spray out small amounts of food near a viewing station to encourage visible foraging behavior Zoos often try to craft the visitor space so that visitors not see other visitors while observing the animals In many instances, the designers’ intent is to evoke an almost religious experience of awe and respect for nature, much as the grand cathedrals did in early eras Rise of the Zoo Conservation Ethic Zoos, as we have seen, arose as places of spectacle, not as conservation organizations But many modern zoos have chosen wildlife conservation as their primary mission The conservation ethic has developed in zoos over the past century in parallel with the nonzoo world, and in many cases one can point to zoos as the places that incubated the people and ideas that have led to important conservation developments (Norton et al., 1995) The National Zoo in the United States, founded in 1887, is considered to be the first zoo created to preserve endangered species Conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitat has become the major goal of most of the prominent zoos and zoo professional organizations (IUDZG/CBSG (IUCN/SSC), 1993) Although altruism is part of the reason for the shift, compelling utilitarian reasons also drive these lofty goals As humanity expands and wild places contract, exotic animals are getting scarcer, thereby reinforcing the zoo conservation mission while presenting the reality that zoos must become net producers of wildlife if their animal exhibits are to remain vibrant, inspirational, and of a multifaceted significance to