“Despite all their flaws, zoos wake us up. They invite us to step outside our most basic
assumptions. Offered for our contemplation, the animals remind us of nature’s impossibly varied
schemes for survival, all the strategies that species rely upon for courtship and mating and protecting
the young and establishing dominance and hunting for something to eat and avoiding being eaten. On
a good day, zoos shake people into recognizing the manifold possibilities of existence, what it’s like to
walk across the Earth, or swim in its oceans of fly above its forests—even though most animals on
display will never have the chance to do any of those things again, at least not in the wild.”
Thomas French, a zoo story
Our Zoo
Daniel Squyres
The San Diego Zoo in California, is the work of one man's determination and passion for
animals. Harry M. Wegeforth is known throughout the Zoological society as the father of one of the
greatest zoo's ever created. My trip to the zoo on Feb.6 2012, was a chance for me to see the fruits of
this great man's labor of love. The Zoo is located in the beautiful Balboa Park, the center for the arts
and education for San Diego. The San Diego Zoo is located in the N.W. Area of Balboa Park, which
was once known as the pepper grove, due to the pepper trees. The thought of walking down the same
streets as Mr. Wegeforth was exciting. To witness the ingenuity and determination of one person's
dream is a very humbling experience, and forced me to look at my life in a new light. To be in the San
Diego Zoo, I realized that I was standing in a dream that became reality, in fact, I can imagine that Mr.
Wegeforth in his hopes and dreams saw me walking through each exhibit with all the wonder and
amazement that he saw when thinking of the possibilities of the zoo.
My first visit to the zoo, I found my thoughts were drawn to the size of the massive zoo, which
houses more than four thousand rare and endangered animals representing more than eight hundred
species and subspecies. Upon entering the zoo you are greeted with a map of the zoo and its exhibits. I
stood there examining the map, plotting my path through the zoo to optimize my time, but my attention
was drawn to unusual noise that began with one, but soon the air was filled with the sound of flamingo.
Their unique sound and breathtaking color engaged my curiosity, and I dismissed the planned route I
planned a moment before. I was so engaged with there stunning beauty and grace that the rest of the
zoo seemed to fade into obscurity. I was snapped back to reality when a young girl tried to feed one of
the birds, and was quickly stopped by a zoo official, stating that every animal in the zoo has a special
diet that coincides with there health and well being. I began to understand that the reason most of these
animals being here is due to humans and our lack of understanding in what it takes to co-exist with the
many animal species of our world. Continuing down the same path as the Flamingos, I found myself in
the lost Forrest exhibit, which housed animals from some of the world's most exotic Forrest. I was able
to witness, gorillas, orangutans, monkeys, tigers, and hippos just to name a few. It took all my first visit
to complete the walk through of the lost Forrest exhibit, which rounded back to the entrance, just in
time for closing at 5p.m.
The next day when I came back their were less people in the zoo, which allowed me to see more
exhibits unimpeded by crowds. I could picture the great Dr. Wegeforth walking down the same paths as
me, dictating his plans and creating this amazing spectacle that relays the importance of conservation
and brings light to what we as humans can do to exist side by side with our animal friends. I could see
all the detail and knowledge of the Dr. through the exhibits at the zoo, for instance, in the Ituri rain
forests of Africa host hundreds of species that live together in a delicate balance. the zoo recognizing
this, created exhibits that cater to this natural balance. I was able to witness the swamp monkeys climb
down a trees to pat an African water buffalo on its butt, giving the buffalo a little scare. It was funny
and gave me the impression that the animals felt at home and were happy. So much thought went into
this zoo, that I decided to do some deeper research into this great mans dream, to see if I could learn
something that I didn't see before, and this is what I found. Not only did Dr. Wegeforth create one of
the most amazing zoos in the world and revolutionized zoo design. Creating moats and deep canyons
that allowed the caging of these wild animals unnecessary, and due to the geological location, they
could rebuild most of the natural environments including the fruits and foliage found in the animals
native habitat. The “Great Dr.” as he came to be known, created not only one of the worlds greatest
zoos, but also pioneered the creation of the National Association of Zoological Executives. He saw a
lack of effective communication between the nations zoos and seek to remedy this. Bringing the
interchanging of species, and inspiration and help for fledgling zoos.
In conclusion, I have come to understand through my studies of Harry M. Wegeforth and the
San Diego Zoo, that Zoos separate themselves from other museums, in the sense that they preserve life
that otherwise would be decimated by encroaching human development. As a result, I have grown very
fond of the San Diego Zoo and its pursuit of preservation. I have been to the many other museums that
surround the Zoo, but none have the impact that the San Diego Zoo has on our of the world we live in,
and the impact we have on it. I found that the surrounding museums are more for the preservation of
human achievement, while Zoos are a way for humans to get in touch with nature and educate
ourselves on different species that we share our world with. And while other types of museums try to
convey the message of our impact, none hold a candle to really conveying that like a Zoo, because you
can actually see what animals are effected by the pursuit of progress. But is it enough to change our
ways? Or do we care?