The Role of Zoos in Wildlife Conservation

When browsing zoo picture books, I've found that they are mostly fun stories about animals getting up to mischief in their zoo homes. They are not usually educational picture books with a message about the true value of zoos.

That is why I wrote my new children’s picture book, Poco Returns to the Wild. I wanted to fill that gap and create a story that really showcases the important role zoos have in helping wild animals overcome threats and avoid extinction. I hope the book helps young children realise the value of zoos when they next go to visit the animals.

But what, exactly, is the role zoos play in wildlife conservation? Let's get into it!

Zoo Breeding Programmes

Poco’s story is about the role of zoos in breeding endangered animals with the aim of reintroducing them to the wild. This is one of the most important roles of zoos – safeguarding endangered animals and saving them from extinction.

When an endangered animal faces a big threat like imminent deforestation, or when there are only a small number of animals left in the wild, its entire species can be at risk. At this stage, it can be useful to bring some of the wild animals into captivity.

With the help of zoos and wildlife parks, the endangered animals can be kept safe and given everything they need to live and reproduce in a comfortable environment. Captive breeding programmes often involve a number of different zoos and these institutions might swap animals between them occasionally to ensure the genetic pool is kept varied (and so prevent issues associated with inbreeding).

While zookeepers work to keep animals healthy and living the most natural lives possible during their time in captivity, wildlife conservationists work in the animal’s natural habitat to remove threats and protect the ecosystem. In time, it can be safe for some of the animals that have been reared in captivity to return to the wild and bolster the native population. This is exactly what happened with Poco’s species, the golden lion tamarin; read about the monkey’s conservation story in my blog post Saving Golden Lion Tamarins.

Research in Zoos

For wildlife conservation measures to be effective, it is essential that scientists have a good understanding of a species’ needs and behaviours. Some animals – those that are small and nocturnal, for example – can be very difficult to study in their wild environment. In these cases, zoos and wildlife parks provide perfect places to monitor animals and learn about important aspects of their lifecycles, like what they like to eat, how they mate and how they look after their young. This information can be used to tailor conservation methods in the wild to make sure the species are protected as best possible.

Wildlife Education in Zoos

Public education is one of the main benefits of all zoos. More and more people live in urban environments and we are increasingly disconnected from nature. It is difficult to care about something if we have no connection with it. In the midst of the sixth mass extinction, then, it is vital that our young generations are exposed to some wildlife and learn from an early age about the importance of biodiversity and saving the environment.

Conservation picture books for children, like Poco Returns to the Wild, can help spark an emotional connection with wildlife and nature, and the same is true for seeing unusual and remarkable animals in-person at the zoo.

Most zoos take education very seriously and provide visitors with lots of information about wildlife and conservation in the form of signs, keeper talks and information on their websites and social media channels. Some even collaborate with local education institutions to run college courses and educational days for school children.

Conservation Funding by Zoos

The final way that zoos can positively impact wildlife conservation is through the provision of funding to help run conservation programmes in the animal’s native ecosystem. While this isn’t a priority for all zoos, many provide huge sums of money - and also animal expertise - for wildlife conservation projects.

Zoos often partner with conservation charities to combine resources and devise a plan of action for endangered animals. During reintroduction programmes, zoos might even send zookeepers and vets out to the animal’s natural habitat to help transfer animals back to the wild.

How to Find a Good Zoo

While it is - rightfully - an expectation for most zoos and wildlife parks today, not all zoos take part in conservation work. It is always worth checking what conservation and educational programmes a zoo has in place before visiting. More on that in my blog post How to find a good zoo.

Conclusion

Poco Returns to the Wild is a children’s picture book story highlighting the role that zoos and wildlife parks around the world can have in breeding endangered species and releasing them back into the wild when their native habitats are more stable.

This role in safeguarding endangered species is invaluable for animal conservation, and I hope Poco's story will help children grasp the message from a young age.

Zoos are also important for researching animals and learning about their behaviours, for providing education to the public and helping people connect with nature, and for funding important ecosystem conservation work.

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