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EDUCATIONAL, ENTERTAINMENTlast(LMTOKS \OTK~Thls Is theof three articles by William Hines, t\ ashing ton editor. World Book Science Service, o«t the biological and soclolojr-leal importance of roos.Offer Special OpprtumtyBy WILLIAM HINES,,, A(cnr!i^Sclfnce Service)\\ ASHINGTON *•— When Prof.|secondary aim of zoos. But the| Of all American zoos, Lincolnjscholarship and showmanship.!cloth. Ho is fortunate, as arc his fact that people flock to zoos injPark in Chicago (not to be con-1The result is a quasi-natural colleagues at Chicago, San-such vast numbers is clear proof*fused with the s u h u r b a n resource that brings millions of Diego, Bronx and a few others,! that this aim is remembered Brookfield zoo) an d tourist dollars each year to a ci- to have scientists nearbv who'- 1. * . in ... . . . M • « I - , • . T 1 . . vand achieved.The line between entertain-ITeini Hediger, director of the anc^ education is frequent-, . v-famed zoo at Zurich, Switzer-!^ a one* an^ m the hands|milli°n each, land, said that a zoo could not of a cleaver teacher is con-1planation for be justified solely entertainment, he’ as a place of!tinually, deliberately blurred. Sojturnouts may hc ! was not rulinHat Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo an Chicago’s populatim• 4. .... ____st’At\in of Wachinc*out that function in the cultural! educational exhibit is set up, one!statVc ...... «• * tourist mccca.Washington’s National Zoologi- ty otherwise overshadowed by are interested in pursuing ani-; cal Park led the list with-the great drawing cards to the mal-rosearch projects that are! estimated attendances of about 4!north, Los Angeles and San*closely allied to urgent, human;Part of the ex-j Francisco. needs, such as the fight againstthese huge; .Haven Aiul Refuge I cancer. smay he the size of! When the National Zoological j Reed and his chief scientist,!ion and the!Park in Washington was!Prof. John Kisenherg of the! of Washington as a established in 1890, Samuel Pier- University of Maryland, believelife of a city.James Fisher of the London Zoo puts it aptly thus in his book, Zoos of the World:Man began to study animals while he was still living incaves, and he is likely to go ondoing so as long as he remains man. The essential purpose of a! zoo is to provide special opportunities for this study that could not well be provided byany other means.This is commonly considered! Person so important that, once a civilization has passed a certain threshold of wealth, there isusually some government or ruler, some rich man or institution ready to bear all or part of the cost. To givepleasure and entertainment tofeature of which is a case bearing the legend:The Most Dangerou s Creature on Earth. W H Y ? Because it not only destroys itself, it has caused the cx-pont Langley, secretary of the Certainly, another factor is'Smithsonian Institution, describ-that admission to both zoos is cd it as intended to be a haven free. This probably explains the and refuge foi popularity of San Francisco (2.1 species.million visitors). New York's it was sct in a quarter -Central Park (2 million), andGardens in Tampa, Fla. mammals and as many buds (L6 miilion)i But thero areand reptiles since the time of Christ.others where some other explanation must be sought,square - mile tract of what wasthen suburban countrysideoverlooking Rock Creek. Sincethat small zoos can do more! than they are doing today to|enhance man’s knowledge of! vanishing)animal species (including homo!sapiens). The zoo at, Oklahoma! City, a park of modest size by! American standards, runs an internship program under, which fledgling scientists learn; while doing. Philadelphia's zoo;then the city has grown up '«*'.......-......— — —around it and the zoo has Iis formally constituted as a.The case contains one vmaiisnotahly San Diego’s, where ad- become a haven and refuge fori laboratory of the University of:mdow. Inside the window is amission is charged and 2..6| harassed urban man. ‘ I Pennsylvania medical school. jLike everything else scientific!, t,)e zo? xs' ]n k*sorJ-;iuu * uiL . berg s words, a hallway house windowmirror. It’s enough to make a million persons attended in athe public is an important but available.stop and think . . . which, of course, is exactly the idea.Heavy AttendanceOf the 96 general-purpose zoos in the United States, about 20 attracted 1,000,000 or more visitors in 1966, the last year for which attendance figures aremetropolitan area of 1 million.The explanation in San Diego's case, is simply stated:Excellence.A natural setting of great beauty and a climate hard to duplicate created a favorable environment for a great zoo. OnW V ^ ^ « ^ ^ -v- — ^ ^ ^ ^ W -W —edifice compounde din this troubled time, theand a living lab, it can never beWashington Zoo (and others as ... . ... . , ... ,well) must assert its priorities fJuU suhfstlutfe f«l* tde w,lld' and. against those of competing pm- this is a fact of which zookeepers;jects. Theodore H. Reed, dircc-m“st .c0ntinually wmmd thcm' tor of the National Zoological selvcsPark, has in one respect a! “A giraffe in a zoo,” says harder row to hoe than most!EisenberS- “may be a funnythis foundation was built an z00keepers for he makes looking animal with stilt Jogs!' pitch for money to the hard-eyed U. S. Congress.and a long neck. But a giraffe in’ Africa is something different —j“I need a pathologist,” Reed:he’s beautiful; he's graceful; says, and D. C. General hc's in context.Hospital needs a pathologist,too. What can I sayScientists Nearby Like any clever administrator, Reed cuts the suit to fit theUnderstanding the proper con-; text of animals and man in the total environment they must ■ share is an important reason for) the existence of zoos. !
Newspaper Details
Lubbock Avalanche Journal
Lubbock, Texas, US
Fri, Jul 19, 1968
Page 47
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
WI, USA 20 Apr 2022
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