Animals from all over the world are captured and put in zoos. Take the time and think about where animals come from. Think about the natural habitat they are taken from. Whether it be a dolphin from the ocean, or a tiger from a rain forest. Think about the fear or stress the process of catching an animal instills in an animal. Although captivity may be key to saving some species, zoo captivity should be stopped not only because they don’t provide a sufficient amount of space for the animal, but also because researchers and experts say that captivity can destroy the mental state and emotional health of an animal, in turn causing early death.

Think about your everyday life, except one day you’re knocked out and when you wake up you realize you are in a smaller, unfamiliar environment. This is what animals all over the world experience on an everyday basis, Mammals and Marine life. Essentially we are putting them in an environment a fraction the size of their natural habitat. For example you take a tiger from the rain forest; hundreds of acres wide and you put them in an exhibit not even half the size of their natural environment. They are forced to adapt to this for years, possibly even the rest of their lives. Ask yourself, “what if this were me”? Have you ever been to an aquarium, Or a dolphin show? It’s the same case for them. Seventy five percent of this earth is made up of bodies of water. Between dolphins and whales, they can roam almost the whole world and then you capture one and put it in a tank and expect it to be happy. With this being said, zoos don’t provide sufficient space for exotic animals. Do we actually think we can make manmade structures to replicate that of an animal’s natural habitat? It is impossible to replicate an entire ocean, as well as a rain forest. No man made structure will ever be able to make an exotic animal feel as if they were in their natural habitat.
When animals behave a certain way, it more than likely reflects the way they are feeling at that period of time. Researchers and animal experts have found that keeping animals in captivity can destroy an animal’s mental state and their emotional health. Experts say that animals give off certain emotions when they are afraid or under some type of stress. In particularly, an Orca Whale, a sign they are under some type of stress is their dorsal fin bends. This is un-fixable. Another case is the African Elephant. People think that the African Elephant waving their trunk back and forth is a habit. Part of this is true, but if this is a highly repeated action, this shows the elephant is under stress. Keeping animals in zoos will destroy their mental and emotional help.

Zoos will never be the best place to put animals, for many reasons. Zoos can never give an animal the experience of being in the wild. A man made structure will never be able to replicate a natural habitat. Although putting animals in captivity may save a certain species, zoos are nothing compared to the wild. Zoos are not the best option not only because they can destroy an animal’s mental and emotional health but also a zoo will never give them a feeling of being in the wild.