Essay Example on Tragic Death of Tiger Keeper Raises Questions on Captive Wildlife Space

Introduction: The Plight of Carnivores in Zoos

Think about sitting in the seat of a low-cost passenger train. It is uncomfortable, annoying, cramped, and almost unbearable for a long journey. A more prolonged and unpleasant life would be unsustainable in this situation. A good scenario is the miserable death of a tiger keeper at Hamerton Zoo in England that led to so many questions about whether the accident was related to the limited space the captive tigers had access to (Law and Andrew, pg. 87).

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Study on Carnivores' Wellbeing in Zoo Enclosures

Carnivores that roam far and wide in the wild fare worst in zoos. This unfair situation happens due to the striking difference between the area they regularly cover in the natural space and the size of their zoo enclosures. Ross Clubb and Georgia Mason gathered data on the wellbeing of carnivores from zoos around the world (Maple, Terry, et al. pg. 79). Their studies on measures of how content animals were in their enclosure by looking at most of the time the animals spent unnecessarily pacing up and down showed that this kind of repetitive behavior is an indication of poor psychological wellbeing.

Zoos should either phase out the keeping of individual species that roam far and wide like lions, tigers, and bears or improve their animal enclosure. Animals kept in captivity harms their psychological being, and the likes of cheetahs that roam over greater distances tend to have the highest infant mortality rates in the zoos (Kroshko, Jeanette pg. 88).

Management of zoos should think of improving their enclosures by giving them more dens, more viewpoints, and generally making their environment more enjoyable. Such improvements would stimulate the animals and give them a more varied life.

Conclusion

Most zoos in Britain have already given up keeping polar bears because of the many problems they develop in captivity (Curry, Erin, et al pg.102). Even though zoos are adopting the modern enclosures that might be varied, still there has to be a comprehensive rethink about the way large carnivores such as polar bears are kept. Even if they are held in captivity for conservation purposes, it should not be done if it compromises their wellbeing.

Think about sitting in a first-class train suite; everything you could want is provided more space, good food, a bed, a shower, and sometimes, unlimited entertainment. In this situation, a much longer and more pleasant life would be sustainable. If improving these animals, enclosures do not work, zoos should think of keeping other animals that do not require space that is more significant (Lute, Michelle et al. pg. 228).

Works Cited

Curry, Erin, et al. "Reproductive trends of captive polar bears in North American zoos: a historical analysis." Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 3.3 (2015): 99-106. https://w.jzar.org/jzar/article/view/133

Kroshko, Jeanette. Population-Level Risk Factors for Stereotypic Behaviour and Infant Mortality in Captive Carnivores. Diss. 2015. https://atrium.lib.uoguelph.ca/xmlui/handle/10214/8685

Law, G., and Andrew C. Kitchener. "Twenty years of the tiger feeding pole: review and recommendations." International Zoo Yearbook (2019). https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/izy.12249

Lute, Michelle L., et al. "Conservation professionals agree on challenges to coexisting with large carnivores but not on solutions." Biological Conservation 218 (2018): 223-232.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320717316166Maple, Terry L., and Valerie D. Segura. "Advancing behavior analysis in zoos and aquariums." The Behavior Analyst 38.1 (2015): 77-91. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40614-014-0018-x