Micke Grove Zoo

All over the world, millions of animals are kept in captivity for our entertainment or education. Even though modern zoos try to produce natural conditions for the animals that are sheltered there, wild animals suffer physically and mentally from the lack of freedom that these zoos impose. These environments are artificial. A zoo is where wild animals are held in reserve for exhibition. Zoos are not considered ecosystems because an ecosystem is defined as a “space in which interactions take place between a community, with all its complex interrelationships, and physical environment” (Enger and Smith 94). Animals in zoos do not interact with every other element in their local environment; hence a zoo is not an ecosystem. These habitats, however, have benefits and disadvantages to us as human beings and the animals that live in them. Is the discomfort human beings force on animals worthy these animals’ lives to be saved?

Zoos are nothing short of essential. Their main function is conversation. Without captivity breeding, many endangered species would be extinct. For example, Micke Grove Zoo is home to over 130 animal varieties representing 50 species that includes birds, amphibians, mammals, and invertebrates. Many of the animals kept at the zoo are classified as endangered or threatened in the wild. Micke Grove Zoo has some animals from all five major continents. Some of the animals found at the zoo include: Lemurs and tortoise from Madagascar, Snow leopard from Asia, birds from Mediterranean climates, tropical squirrels, and small primates recognized as tamarins. The zoo also has animals indigenous to California such as the mountain lion, and the golden eagle most of which had been wounded and rescued from the wild.

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...hese animals. Even if volunteers offer to help maintain Micke Grove Zoo, they lack adequate training and experience on how to conserve the animals’ artificial natural habitat.

Therefore, even though there are various plants and animals at Micke Grove Zoo, they do no not do what is necessary to keep the ecosystem health. There is need for various species to interact to keep the ecology healthy. Producers, consumers, and decomposers are all restricted from what they can do. Human beings should know this: Survival of these animals does not justify the loss of their freedom.

Works Cited

Enger, Eldon, D. and Smith, Bradley, F. Environmental Science: A Study of Interrelationships. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Inc., 2010: 94-95. Print.

“Nature Works-Ecosystem.” New Hampshire Public Television. n.d. Web. Aug 8, 2011. http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwepecosystems.htm