• In old zoos, animals were often housed alone, in sterile cages for easy viewing. In modern zoos animals are housed in social groups in naturalistic settings, which is both better for the animal and more educational for the public.
• Education programs are more extensive, with certified teachers as Zoo instructors.
• Rather than capturing animals from the wild they are bred at zoos.
• Funds and effort are now expended to preserve the habitats of animals in their home countries.

We need to use resources like zoos as educational tools and outdoor classrooms. This pertains to what was mentioned in the text in chapter three: Youth, Education, and Environmental Responsibilities; the section titled What is Education For? by David W. Orr. "I propose that the way in which learning occurs is as important as the content of the particular courses. Process is important for learning. Courses taught as lecture courses tend to induce passivity. Indoor classes create the illusion that learning only occurs inside four walls, isolated from what students call, without apparent irony, the 'real world' " (p. 114).

Research is essential to these efforts. It is through research that we gather the information needed to make good conservation and management decisions. For example, in order to maintain animals in naturalistic settings, we need to know what their habitat is like in the wild. In order to provide the animals with what they need to exhibit their natural behaviors (environmental enrichment) we need to know what these natural behaviors are. In order to preserve natural populations of animals we need to know how they use their environment and what aspects of their habitat are vital to them. This refers to what Janet Biehl discusses in chapter two about environmental consciousness and ethics of social ecology, "To meet that challenge of creating a free ecological society, we need the best facilities we have - our knowledge of nature, and the understanding of what we should be"(p. 67).

Research in the zoo is conducted by zoo staff and many different people from outside the zoo including university staff, outside scientists, postgraduate students, undergraduate students, and Biology 'A' level students from local schools.

Goals of Research in the Zoo

Conservation of biological diversity means the conservation of species and biological communities. Many species cannot survive being away from the communities in which they are naturally found. Zoos keep animals outside of their natural living area, but this course of action is now accepted by conservationists as the only available conservation method for critically endangered species. These captive animals or species represent an important part of the remaining gene pool, which with well organized and planned breeding management, may be used in the near future to supplement wild populations or build new ones.

Research is crucial for endangered species breeding and management. For example, where will zoo professionals be able to turn when they need to determine the sex of an animal? What can be done if a mysterious virus attacks? These are some of the challenges that scientists have met over the last twenty years by such research groups as the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES).

One of the most interesting breeding research projects is one conducted by the San Diego Wild Animal Park called the Frozen Zoo. Researchers in the reproductive physiology department focus on freezing and preserving. This permits the coupling of animals that can't, or won't, physically come together to mate. It also helps to prevent inbreeding among species, which is the mishap of captive breeding programs.