"HELLO, ZOOKEEPER!" A speech for experts We owe our zoos to wealthy sovereigns. It was mostly the gentry who started about 500 years ago to build private zoos, also known as menageries, for recreation, amusement, the urge to possess or simply for pomposity. The buildings used were that superb that the animals living in them lived in gilded cages, escape-proof kennels, monitored and cared for by keepers, mostly cushioned against the public. Travelling menageries brought the first collections of animals to the people. Their owners merely wanted to satisfy the craving for sensation of the people at the time, with ever-new exotic rarities from faraway countries. The animals' needs were not important in all this, they only had to live long enough to amortize their purchase price. For lack of interest, experience and information the care for the animals during this time followed a trial-and-error-scheme. The first bourgeoisie zoo was built during the French Revolution in 1793 in Paris, at the same time as the declaration of human rights - the animals' rights were to remain untouched as well. At the same time, travelling menageries were prohibited. The zoo keepers now were able to gain experience and use it under consistant, defined conditions - they could become caretakers. More and more animals were "freed" from their kennels in the time to follow: Enclosures replaced the small cages. To show "animals in the highest degree of freedom and in an enclosure as similar to the wild as possible without any fences " then became the motto, which Hagenbeck used in 1907 to open their world-famous outdoor enclosures in Hamburg. The zookeepers worked without attracting any attention and were not allowed to break the artificial nature. Attention to detail was important. The zoo's task became more and more complex over the years. Today's modern zoo is Noah's Ark and site for education, research and recreation - all at the same time. From lifelike enclosures the animals once more moved to species-appropriate districts, territories which offer places of comfort, social partners, food and diversion. From the zoo's point of view, most enclosure barriers could be left out, since animals would not leave their territory by choice. The squirrel monkeys at Tiergarten Nürnberg show this in a very impressive way, but buffalos, deer or gorilla only need ditches for safety reasons. Unfortunately, the ever-growing vandalism among zoo visitor makes further development towards a zoo with no barriers very complicated - in many cases the animals have to be protected from the people. The positive development in keeping animals was made possible at a large amount by well-trained zookeepers. It is him/her who cares for the anima's well-being in today's enclosures.
