We’ve still got one more post coming to wrap up our trip through Provence, but I wanted to take a minute to call attention to National Zoo Keeper Week, which is celebrated during the third week of July each year. During the week, zoos nationwide honor animal care professionals and the work they do in animal care, conservation, and education.
No, I’m not a zoo keeper. Nor do I personally know any zoo keepers. So why do I care about National Zoo Keeper Week? Well, if you’ve been following our blog for a while now, you know that we made a trip to Svalbard in March to see polar bears in their natural habitat. We did that because I LOVE polar bears. Unfortunately, the weather this winter was really warm and sea ice did not even form around parts of Svalbard where it normally does. So, we didn’t get to see any polar bears in the wild. I’ll admit I was disappointed to not see any. I’ve long had a fascination with them and they’re my favorite animal to see at the zoo.
Then in May, I was in New York City to meet up with my mom for a mother-daughter weekend. We went to the Central Park Zoo where we saw CPZ’s star polar bear, Gus. The sun was blazing in a near cloudless sky and after peering into the enclosure, I finally spotted Gus. He was napping in a little sliver of shade close to one of the glass viewing windows.
Gus napping at the Central Park Zoo
At first I was thrilled, pushing my way through children to get a front row spot at the glass to see Gus. Then as I tweeted a picture of him, I thought to myself, “Gus looks hot. I bet he is dreaming of hunting seals in Svalbard.” Observing the enclosure, I realized how un-like his natural habit the enclosure really was. Polar bears spend most of their life out on the sea ice and swimming from floating piece of ice to floating piece of ice. Sure, Gus had a pool he could cool off in, but was it really the same?
Gus’ caretaker happened to be at his enclosure at the same time and I got to spend a few minutes learning more about Gus. I even learned that polar bears can live up to 18 years in wild and 35 years in zoos.
While it made me sad to see Gus trying to stay cool, I also realize zoos afford us the opportunity to have encounters with animals we might not ever see otherwise. Without these magnificent creatures in zoos to peak our interest in them, conservations efforts to help save endangered species like the polar bear would probably be a whole lot less effective. It’s the children that go to zoos and fall in love with the animals who grow up to become zoo keepers or the field scientists that help educate us and lead those conservation efforts.
Next time you visit a zoo, take a moment to thank the zoo keepers for devoting their lives to caring for these animals and affording us the opportunity to view disappearing wildlife.
So what do you think? Should animals be kept in zoos?
Jennifer Dombrowski
Jennifer Dombrowski is a location independent globe trotter and bases herself in Prata di Pordenone, Italy. She works as a social media and innovation strategist in higher education and is a regular contributor on johnnyjet.com. Her website, jdombstravels.com, is the 2012 Destinology Travel Bloggy Best Newcomer award winner. Google+
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We’re Jennifer and Tim and we love traveling! We are just one ordinary couple who have found that travel brought us closer together, taught us patience, the art of compromise, and how to truly appreciate the diversity of this extraordinary world. So far, we've visited 37 countries, lived in the United States and Italy, and Tim has lived in Korea. And we do it all while both holding down full time jobs. 
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Laurel
July 23, 2012 at 2:49 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Love this post. I used to work at a zoo in the education dept and worked closely with the gorilla keepers and worked with them to develop enrichment programs for the public that would benefit the gorillas. The dedication of zookeepers is amazing and I don’t think most people realize what a tough job it is and that they’re on call 365 days of the year. I have a lot of respect for zookeepers, but have very mixed feelings about keeping animals in zoos, since so many zoos are about the bottom line and not about what’s best for the animals. Note nearly all of the zookeepers that I knew were all about the animals, it was the administration that wasn’t always.
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
July 23rd, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Thanks, Laurel! And that’s amazing you worked at a zoo with gorillas!
Conservation and education are important. But zoos that just have animals to make money and don’t care are so upsetting. Especially when the animals are in incredibly small enclosures.
I’d really like to do some voluntourism with animals to help and help spread the word about how more people can get involved in conservation efforts.
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Ali
July 26, 2012 at 11:02 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
I’m not a big fan of zoos. I much prefer to see the animals in the wild, but I do understand that’s not always practical. If the zoo is trying to help save an endangered species, I think that’s great, but sometimes zoos just seem so sad. I did enjoy the Singapore Night Safari, which has the animals basically out in the wild, not in cages. The more dangerous ones are kept behind a fence and you can really only see them through a glass window, but the set up is still much closer to being in the wild for the animals.
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
July 27th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
I agree, Ali. I really like reserves and refuges too where the animals have space to roam and even interact with each other like they would in the wild.
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London4Travelers
July 28, 2012 at 8:06 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
I like polar bears very much. They are very interesting and beautiful animals. While traveling I often prefer to go to zoo in the place that I visit and I am always happy to see polar bears there. These animals are amazing
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 11:17 pm
They truly are magnificent creatures. One of these days – hopefully sooner rather than later – I’ll see them in the wild.
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Parco Natura Viva: Verona Wild Animal Park - Jdomb's Travels
February 5, 2013 at 11:13 am (UTC 2) Link to this comment
[...] taking me to the Erie Zoo where I learned about animals from faraway lands and saw my very first polar bear. I even vividly remember our visit to the African Lion Safari near Toronto, a self-drive through [...]