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potpro t1_iscjjej wrote

Makes me feel sad he will never get to hunt so he has to practice breaking ice this way.

..but everyone else keep up the "look at the cute derpy huggable animal!"

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notpetelambert t1_iscm6dd wrote

Many if not most zoo animals are not capable of returning to the wild. Either they were born in captivity, or they have an injury or disease that would mean they would not survive their natural environment. It can be sad to see an animal in captivity, but releasing an unfit animal into the wild is probably more cruel than allowing them to survive in captivity.

That said, not all zoos provide adequate environment, diet, healthcare, and enrichment for their animals, so it's important to do your research and learn what animals need to thrive, so you can make an educated judgement.

On the other hand, zoos are an excellent tool for keeping critically endangered species alive and reintroducing them to the environment! I recently visited the Santa Barbara zoo, where they had a large California Condor exhibit. The condors there were flightless due to injuries or deformations, but they and some other captive condors at other locations were able to produce offspring- that were then released into the wild, helping to bolster their near-extinct population.

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potpro t1_isf7xp6 wrote

Nothing you said i disagreed with. Is what i said not sad to you?

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notpetelambert t1_isf93jt wrote

Kinda, yes. That's why I wanted to counter with a little positivity.

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Moiny1 t1_isebxsl wrote

Caging 8700 species for entertainment to save 48 is the wrong way to do it.

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MuddyWaterTeamster t1_isegktv wrote

> Many if not most zoo animals are not capable of returning to the wild. Either they were born in captivity, or they have an injury or disease that would mean they would not survive their natural environment.

So we have to have zoos because animals get born in captivity, but animals get born in captivity because every mid-sized city needs to have a zoo.

> On the other hand, zoos are an excellent tool for keeping critically endangered species alive and reintroducing them to the environment!

Apparently not if they got born in captivity! Conservation in an environment that doesn’t make them completely maladapted to the outside world is a thing that exists.

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notpetelambert t1_isf6f4k wrote

>The condors there were flightless due to injuries or deformations, but they and some other captive condors at other locations were able to produce offspring- that were then released into the wild, helping to bolster their near-extinct population.

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