Wild Animals, Zoos, and You: The Influence of Habitat on Health (John Durant)

Wild Animals, Zoos, and You
The influence of habitat on health

John Durant
Hunter-Gatherer.com
@JohnDurant
Paleo NYC
Barefoot Runners NYC

NYCBarefootRun.com

References
Books
A Different Nature by David Hancocks
Zoo Animals: Behavior, Management, and Welfare by Hoesy, Melfi, Pankhurst
Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin
Wild Animals in Captivity by HeiniHediger
…
Interviews
Jon Coe (Jon Coe Designs)
Kristin Lukas, Elena Less (Gorilla Species Survival Plan, Cleveland Zoo)
Gary Lee (CLR Design)
David Towne (Woodland Park Zoo)
Ron Kagan (Detroit Zoo)
Papers (various)

Humans do not live in zoos

Zoos teach us about removing animals from their natural habitat
Longevity and mortality (extrinsic vs. intrinsic causes of mortality, lifespan, aging)
Lifestyle factors and health (diet, movement, sun, social groupings, sleep, and chronic disease)
The human element (cost, bureaucratic rules, conventional wisdom, commercial influences)
A neutral approach to health (carnivores, omnivores, herbivores, insectivores, frugivores, predators, prey, warm-blooded, cold-blooded, animals, plants, etc.)

Outline
Intro: Jumbo the Elephant
A brief history of zoos
Habitat design and health
A neutral approach to health
Close: The importance of zoos

Jumbo the Elephant(1860-1885)

Before Jumbo was jumbo
1860-1861: Born, captured in Sudan
~1862: Bought by Paris Zoo (Ménagerie du Jardindes Plantes)
~1862-1865: Neglected and malnourished
1865: Traded to the London Zoo, arrived in London covered in sores

1870 – Siege of Paris

1865–1882: Jumbo becomes jumbo

1882 – P.T. Barnum buys Jumbo

1882 – Jumbo arrives in New York

1885 – Tragedy on the tracks

1889 – The Tufts Jumbos

1941 – Dumbo

Jumbo shrimp

Jumbo jet

Jumbo loans

JumboTron

Chanel “Jumbo grey” handbag

1991 – Impacted molars
“His unnatural diet, devoid of coarse grasses, leaves, and the roughage of bark, dirt, and roots, did not allow his molars to wear sufficiently quickly, and when his fifth pair erupted, they buckled and grew inward.”
Source: Van Gelder, Richard G. (1991) A Big Pain, Natural History, 100: 22 in A Different Nature (Hancocks)

The Jumbo Diet™
Daily
200 lbs. of hay
2 bushels of oats
1 bushel of sweet biscuits
15 loaves of bread
3 quarts of onions
Occasional
Buckets of apples, oranges, figs, nuts, cakes, and candies
“enthusiastically taken hefty swigs of whiskey”
Source: Preston, D. J. (1983) Jumbo, king of elephants, Natural History, 92: 80–3 in A Different Nature (Hancocks)

Jumbo’s Story
What is normal?
What is the role of zoos?
How do you keep wild animals healthy?
How can zoos influence the popular imagination?

A Brief History of Zoos

Why?
Entertainment
Status
Research
Conservation

A 3-word history of humanity
WILD
AGRICULTURAL
INDUSTRIAL
Hunter-Gatherers
Herder-Farmers
Producer-Consumers

A brief history of wild animals in captivity
AGRICULTURAL
INDUSTRIAL
WILD
Royal Menageries
Zoological Gardens
none /
small scale

Timeline
WILD
[small scale: trap, tame, domesticate]
Agricultural Revolution
3,500 BCE – Hierakonpolis (Egypt)
1,150 BCE – Tanki (China)
1,100 BCE – Tiglath-Pileser(Assyria)
600 BCE – Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylon)
300 BCE – Roman gladiatorial games
1521 – Montezuma’s menagerie (Aztec) destroyed by Cortez
1626 – Menagerie at Versailles
1795 – Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes (Paris)
1826 – Zoological Society of London forms
1828 – Zoological Gardens opens
1849 – First reptile house opens
1853 – First public aquarium opens
1867 – The word “zoo” appears in OED
DOMESTICATED
Industrial Revolution
INDUSTRIAL

Agricultural: Royal Menageries
power, prestige, control over Nature, blood sport
Nero (37-68 AD). "Christians Flung To The Wild Beasts", engraving from “A Popular History of Rome” by D. Rose, 1886.

Agricultural: Royal Menageries
power, prestige, control over Nature, bloodsport
Menagerie at Versailles under Louis XIV (1660s)

Industrial: Zoological Collections
reductive, organized taxonomically, sterile, modernist
Snow leopard at the Bronx Zoo (1906)

Rhinos at the Berlin Zoo (1960s)

Polar bear exhibit at the Louisville Zoo (mid-20th century)

Penguin Pool at the London Zoo (1934-2003)

Q: What is the most dangerous animal in the zoo?
A: The Architect

As we have entered the information age, zoos have undergone a parallel revolution
INFORMATION
AGRICULTURAL
Habitat
Immersion

Information: Habitat Immersion
Nature is the model, habitat-based, holistic, enrichment
HagenbeckTierpark (1907)

Woodland Park Zoo, Gorilla Exhibit by Jones and Jones (1978-79)

London Zoo, Penguin Pool (2011)

The Un-Zoo

Habitat Design and Health

Stereotypies

Mokolo and Bebac

Gorilla Biscuits

Before

Feeding time
Human time?
Gorilla time
Lion time

Sexy time

Prey species

A Neutral Approach to Health

The Veil of Ignorance in morality
“no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status; nor does he know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence and strength, and the like"
A tool for designing a moral habitat

A tool for designing a healthy habitat
The Veil of Ignorance in health
“no one knows his place in Nature, his genus or species; nor does he know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence and strength, and the like"

If you could end up as anything….
…how do you make anything healthy?

The Berlin Zoo holds 1,500+ species

Potential rules for habitat design
Feed processed whole grains
Remove predators
Use surfaces easy to sterilize (concrete, steel)
Give access to antibiotics (as needed)
House each organism in isolation
Feed the optimal ratio of fat, protein, and carbs
House each organism in groups

Where do you start?
Avoid death– Decrease extrinsic causes of mortality (predators, infectious disease, intra-species violence, exposure, accidents, starvation)
Live well – Decrease intrinsic causes of mortality by replicating salient aspects of the habitat(s) to which the species is adapted (diet, movement, sun, climate, social groupings, etc.)

Where do you start?

When was the last time
you were closeto
a large, wild animal?

In the city
Picture Credit: Johan Rosenmunthe

Camping

Hunting

In the arena

On safari

At the zoo

Lots of people go to zoos
Source: MLB (2009), NBA (2008-09), NHL (2008-2009), NFL (2009-10) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sports_attendance_figures
Source: Association of Zoos and Aquariums (2008) http://www.aza.org/visitor-demographics/

Zoos have enormous potential
London Zoo, 1955
London Zoo, 2009
Photo Credit: Daniel Coomber
Pathetic
Negative attitudes
Entertainment
Animal cruelty
Majestic
Positive attitudes
Education and conservation
Animal wellbeing

Zoos connect us to the wild
Thank you!

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Wild Animals, Zoos, and You: The Influence of Habitat on Health (John Durant)

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Wild Animals, Zoos, and You: The Influence of Habitat on Health (John Durant) Presentation Transcript