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Do you think zoo animals think about the meaning of life & how they lost their sense of self in captivity?

animals in captivity are served better food & they don't have the daily tiring task of hunting/finding their own food or have to worry about being chased/eaten by predators or other stressful things that wild animals do...but are they being too spoiled & being treated like hollywood divas & probably have no idea how to survive in the real world, in this case, the "wild"...afterall, the wild is their natural habitat and it is there, where they'll learn to be who they really are? do you think that gorillas for example, love the attention at first but after 15+ years, they are sick & tired of being stared at by humans...like what the heck is the humans' problem!?! I can't even get some privacy around here?:( then they start to wonder if they'd be happier if they were back in the wild & how much independence & freedom they'd have & the grass is always greener on the other side?or do you think zoo animals just eat, sleep, poo & repeat the routine like depressed prisoners? your opinions??:-) basically, do you think they're as dumb as we presume they are or humans are so self-centered/arrogant that we think we know that they don't know anything? or zoo animals only playing dumb;-) I think even specialist who study animals as their career are mostly presuming the cause & effect of animals' actions, too, because we aren't able to communicate with them in coherent language and directly ask them about their "emotions." it is similar to a guy misreading a female's emotions and think that she's feeling fine but she's really not, like mixed signals sort of thing.even animals in captivity now, who have never experienced the wild to compare, do you think they still wonder...is there's more to life than this? or they're happy where they are^_^ which animals specifically do you think enjoy living in the zoo and which seem to hate it? do you think we're really preserving their existance more or exploiting them at the zoo?

Public Comments

1. Maybe some of them. Depends on which animal and how large the cage or whatever they are held in is.
2. I think zoos are awful. Trapping animals in any way I think is the wrong thing to do, (including having pets) but I'm a very sensitive person. I don't think animals are dumb, but someone once said, whenever you trap something or someone, there's a lot of built up rage in them, and one day they might just snap. Your last sentence seemed to be right-on, they're "prisoners" who didn't do anything wrong. Why should they have to sacrifice their lives for selfish humans?
3. No. The animals sense that their progeny are being assured a place in the world ( for example,captive breeding programs for rare, endangered, and threatened species, and other moms and dads) and Isn't that what all life is about, reproduction, species survival.
4. There are some statements in this that are based on assumptions. Many Zoo animals have never been in the wild, thus cannot compare captive life to wild life. Also, zoos provide animals with enrichment, both social and mental. I believe that the animals just deal with the situation they are in, it is just normal life for them. Also, animals have personalities, they show them every day. As for the privacy issue, most zoos have areas where the animals can hide so they can be "off exhibit" if they need privacy. Each animal's story is different, so to fully examine the relationship each has with the zoo would be difficult. If you have specific animals in question i would read books or scholarly articles about that species, then observe them in the zoo habitat to see how different the behaviors are. I would also talk to the docents and the keepers to further answer your questions.