Book Description
This digital document is an article from Children's Digest, published by Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc. on March 1, 1997. The length of the article is 542 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Popcorn Park Zoo. (refuge for animals that were unwanted, sick or abandoned; located in New Jersey)
Author: Lou Harry
Publication: Children's Digest (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 1997
Publisher: Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc.
Volume: v47Issue: n2Page: p28(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent book, a must have for zoologists
I am a zookeeper in an accredited zoological institution and this book is a must read as we care for captive animals. A comprehensive enrichment program is critical for wild animals in captive environments as these programs provide the animals with choices, complexities, and change. The guiding principle for enrichment is based on the animal's natural history. This book very appropriately emphasizes the requirement of enrichment for the animal's well being. Read this book and it will give you hope.

Excellent book!
This is my must have book (bible) for my research on environmental enrichment.If you work with animals in a captive situation, you need to read this book.The book also deals with stereotypy.A lot of excellent information on enrichment and its implications for captive animals.If you are at all interested in environmental enrichment or currently implement an enrichment program for your animals, do yourself a favor and read this book.

A nice surprise
I bought "Ethics on the Ark" at the same time as this book, and was disappointed with that book.This book, however, was a very nice surprise.I felt it gave a unbiased view of captive animal enrichment, and the ethics behind keeping animals in captivity.I appreciated the completeness of this book, starting from a historical perspective, straight through to modern reasoning.I would say this is a must have for anyone working with animals in a captive environment.

excelente review of environmental enrichment
A book that had to be written. This book is a goodand basic guide for people working or interested in environmental enrichment.Several aspects are covered by the book, from theoretical bases to the implications to useenrichment for the conservation and welfare of wild animals. However,although it gives a lots of examples on mammals and some on reptiles, itforgets birds. ... Read more

Book Description

To modern sensibilities, nineteenth-century zoos often seem to be unnatural places where animals led miserable lives in cramped, wrought-iron cages. Today zoo animals, in at least the better zoos, wander in open spaces that resemble natural habitats and are enclosed, not by bars, but by moats, cliffs, and other landscape features. In Savages and Beasts, Nigel Rothfels traces the origins of the modern zoo to the efforts of the German animal entrepreneur Carl Hagenbeck.

By the late nineteenth century, Hagenbeck had emerged as the world's undisputed leader in the capture and transport of exotic animals. His business included procuring and exhibiting indigenous peoples in highly profitable spectacles throughout Europe and training exotic animals -- humanely, Hagenbeck advertised -- for circuses around the world. When in 1907 the Hagenbeck Animal Park opened in a village near Hamburg, Germany, Hagenbeck brought together all his business interests in a revolutionary zoological park. He moved wild animals out of their cages and into "natural landscapes" alongside "primitive" peoples from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the islands of the Pacific. Hagenbeck had invented a new way of imagining captivity: the animals and people on exhibit appeared to be living in the wilds of their native lands.

By looking at Hagenbeck's multiple enterprises, Savages and Beasts demonstrates how seemingly enlightened ideas about the role of zoos and the nature of animal captivity developed within the essentially tawdry business of placing exotic creatures on public display. Rothfels provides both fascinating reading and much-needed historical perspective on the nature of our relationship with the animal kingdom.

Book Description
From the moment the very first animals–two small, bedraggled prairie dogs–arrived at the Bronx Zoo in 1899, history was being made.
Zookeeping has steadily been evolving over the years: Today, animals that would once have been kept in iron cages roam freely in habitats similar to real prairies, jungles, and forests.
With engaging animal photos and lively anecdotes, Wild Lives takes readers through a century of zookeeping at one of the most-beloved zoos in the world, and shares what zoologists have learned over the years about keeping wild animals. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1975, Darill Clements answered an advertisement for a position as a Public Relations Assistant at Taronga Zoo, Sydney. After confessing in the interview that she had no interest in animals, she was more than surprised when she was offered the job. After only three months, Darill became an animal and zoo lover, besotted with and inspired by the joy of nature.

Postcards from the Zoo highlights behind-the-scenes life at beautiful Taronga Zoo, Sydney, chronicling a time when zoo environments changed from bars to branches. Including tales of Anastasia the albatross who hated heights, the koalas who packed their pouches for Japan and Lulu the chimp who loves fireworks, this is essential reading for all animal lovers.

Customer Reviews (1)

Blaaht
Who else is reading this for Sanzenbacher's COM 122 class?Not a great book, not too bad though.I'm not much of animal lover though. ... Read more

Amazon.com
This book is not for children, nor is it likely to be recycled as a calendar or a booklet of postcards. It has, however, established its young creator as a talent on the rise in Europe. Jaschinski, a German-born photographer based in London, lets her stark black-and-white compositions stand without commentary; viewers are left to form their own opinions.Among these dark and unsettling images of animals behind bars is a haunting--and nearly heart-breaking--picture of a decidedly unhappy gibbon, imploring the camera to free him from captivity. Words could only diminish its impact.Book Description
This book is not for children, nor is it likely to be recycled as a calendar or a booklet of postcards. It has, however, established its young creator as a talent on the rise in Europe. Jaschinski, a German-born photographer based in London, lets her stark black-and-white compositions stand without commentary; viewers are left to form their own opinions.Among these dark and unsettling images of animals behind bars is a haunting--and nearly heart-breaking--picture of a decidedly unhappy gibbon, imploring the camera to free him from captivity. Words could only diminish its impact. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Unforgettable.
An unforgettable read.
Without a word and thus with incredible strength. It's not a political message, it's not an argument with solutions to problems.
It's just an extremely strong and human message.
A book I wish more people would read.

An Inspiration
This book rekindled my interest in B&W photography...and since I live near a major zoo, also zoo photography. Not every photo is of the same quality, but in this book are the most singularly beautiful B&W images I have ever seen! The layout and quality are tops. I LOVE THIS BOOK. Now having said that, I must admit I love zoos...and thank heavens for them for keeping alive some of nature's most wonderful creatures which have been suffering terribly in recent years in the wild. The damage done to wildlife conservation by the Sierra Clubs and the PETAs of the world cannot be understated. So, I do not agree with her message but I love her spectacular images.

A Beautiful Yet Sad Book of Captured "Wildlife" Pictures
As youngsters most of us felt excited when we went to zoos to see"wild" animals.This book shows us how things may look like fromthe other side of the cage/barrier.The Images are stunning not only fortheir artistic beauty but also the message they convey: unforgettable yetheart-breaking.The composition and lighting of the black and white printsare just great.

Captivating imagery
Never have I seen a collection of photography like this book. The book notonly shows the beauty of all sorts of animals but also depicts theharshness of the reality they face each day living in a zoo. The contrastbetween nature's awesome creatures and man's desire to put them on displayis a haunting story. This photographer tells it well. ... Read more

Book Description

Please Do Not Annoy, torment, pester, plague, molest, worry, badger, harry, persecute, irk, bullyrag, vex, disquiet, grate, beset, bother, tease, nettle, tantalize or ruffle the Animals. -- sign at zoo

Since the early days of traveling menageries and staged attractions that included animal acts, balloon ascents, and pyrotechnic displays, zoos have come a long way. The Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris, founded in 1793, didn't offer its great apes lessons in parenting or perform dental surgery on leopards. Certainly the introduction of veterinary care in the nineteenth century -- and its gradual integration into the twentieth -- has had much to do with this. Today, we expect more of zoos as animal welfare concerns have escalated along with steady advances in science, medicine, and technology.Life at the Zoo is an eminent zoo veterinarian's personal account of the challenges presented by the evolution of zoos and the expectations of their visitors. Based on fifteen years of work at the world-famous San Diego Zoo, this charming book reveals the hazards and rewards of running a modern zoo.

Zoos exist outside of the "natural" order in which the worlds of humans and myriad exotic animals would rarely, if ever, collide. But this unlikely encounter is precisely why today's zoos remain the sites of much humor, confusion, and, occasionally, danger. This book abounds with insights on wildlife (foulmouthed parrots, gum-chewing chimps, stinky flamingoes), human behavior (the fierce competition for zookeeper jobs, the well-worn shtick of tour guides), and the casualties -- both animal and human -- of ignorance and carelessness. Phillip Robinson shows how animal exhibits are developed and how illnesses are detected and describes the perils of working around dangerous creatures. From escaping the affections of a leopard that thought he was a lap cat to training a gorilla to hold her newborn baby gently (instead of scrubbing the floor with it) and from operating on an anesthetized elephant ("I had the insecure sensation of working under a large dump truck with a wobbly support jack") to figuring out why a zoo's polar bears were turning green in color,Life at the Zoo tells irresistible stories about zoo animals and zoo people.

Customer Reviews (4)

Great general view of complexity of zoos
This was an easy to read, very well described, first-hand account of the complexity of working in a first class zoo.

Of beasts and bureacracies
This is a delightful book. From the dust jacket to the illustrations and index, it is beautifully produced. The author, standing on the left in the dust jacket photo, provides an important inside look at life in the zoo. Robinson's career as a field biologist and zoo veterinarian at the world famous Zoological Society of San Diego provide him great insights into the minds of beasts and bureaucracies. Much of this book is will be great interest to historians of animal collections and veterinary medicine for exotics. However, any dedicated zoo patron will find this account rich and the book will reach a very broad audience among students of animal behavior, aspiring veterinarians, animal lovers and zoo keepers. The anecdotes are lively and poignant, and will resonant with those who have worked behind the scenes in similar facilities. I especially liked the tale of the infamous Ken Allen, an orangutan Houdini!

This is a book that needed writing and Phillip Robinson was the one to do it. A leading authority on zoo medicine, the author also proves himself a skillful writer and storyteller. Life at the Zoo should be at the top of your shopping list for any animal lovers or aspiring ethologists.

Witty, Funny and Infomed Look at Zoos
"Life at the Zoo" opened up the zoo world for me and provided a long and candid glimpse into how zoos function. Before reading this book I couldn't imagine how anyone could begin to provide medical care for such a diverse population of animals. I got the feeling that I was looking over the fence, peeking through the cracks and peering over the shoulder of veterinarians, animal keepers and visitors. The author writes authoritatively about what animals experience in zoos and the grave responsibility that zoo personnel have in nurturing and protecting them from both people and themselves. I appreciated the parts that discussed wildlife conservation and ethics, and others about the construction of zoo exhibits and some of the nuts, including employees, who frequent zoos. This book made me a better informed zoo visitor. I now have more of a sense of purpose and understanding when I go to my zoo. One of the high points was the author's dry sense of humor and unassuming way of sharing his experiences. Anyone who likes animals and who is curious about the role of zoos in wildlife conservation will find this valuable.

Bibliography's the highpoint
As a zoo docent, I've read better books on related topics such as Hancocks' A Different Nature, and would give this 3 stars personally but maybe a 4 for the general public. In fact, Hancocks' book though published two years earlier has more current info on a couple specifics but it's also more academic in style.

Early chapters seem to feature quite a few zoo deaths of animals and keepers to grab your attention. Middle chapters feature vet-specific topics such as drugs and nutrition but not in any great depth. Lots of anecdotes make up most of the book, some amusing, many of which could have been left out with no loss.

I got the sense the book was written in bits and pieces. There are repetitions such as the nearly identical descriptions of elephant teeth on pages 157 and 222. Quite a few typos involving grammar and missing words, especially annoying in a book from a university press.

I'd call him a middle of the roader on animal issues--he now finds hunting of deer and rabbits distasteful, but still hunts ducks; he criticizes the extreme folks in both animal rights and animal experimentation. He's stronger on environmental issues and thinks zoos should become involved in local environmental issues such as the area's wildlife habitat and pollution.

The bibliography features description/comments on 22 zoo-related books on a variety of topics. Very good leads for people interested in further reading. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A little one sided
I wanted a book that discussed the ethics behind captive animals, however this book was decidedly one sided.While I generally agree with animal rights ethics, I wanted to learn more about the reasons TO keep animals captive, and this book did not furnish that side.In fact, I felt most of the submitting authors displayed a hostile tendancy.It is a decent book on the history of zoos, as long as you're only interested in seeing this subject from one perspective.It left me feeling defensive.

Good material on history and future of zoos
This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the history and future of zoos and animal parks, as well as offering an assessmentof present day facilities.Pro and con essays on a variety of topics relatedto zoo management, aquisition of animals and captive breeding provide bothsides of the controversial issue of maintaining animals in captivity. Slight bias toward the view of zoos as the only viable future situation forwildlife but still offers critical analysis of

issues involved. ... Read more

Book Description

On a rainy day in May 1988, a lowland gorilla named Willie B. stepped outdoors for the first time in twenty-seven years, into a new landscape immersion exhibit. Born in Africa, Willie B. had been captured by an animal collector and sold to a zoo. During the decades he spent in a cage, zoos stopped collecting animals from the wild and Americans changed the ways they wished to view animals in the zoo. Zoos developed new displays to simulate landscapes like the Amazon River basin and African forests. Exhibits similar to animals' natural habitats began to replace old-fashioned animal houses.

But such displays are only the most recent effort of zoos to present their audiences with an authentic experience of nature. Since the first zoological park opened in the United States in Philadelphia in 1874, zoos have promised their visitors a journey into the natural world. And for more than a century they have been popular places for education and recreation: every year more than 130 million Americans go to zoos to look at the animals and enjoy a day outdoors.

The first book-length history of American zoos, Animal Attractions examines the meaning of nature in the city by looking at the ways zoos have assembled and displayed their animal collections. Situated literally and culturally in the American middle landscape, zoos are concrete expressions of longstanding tensions between wildness and civilization, science and popular culture, education and entertainment. In their efforts to promote nature appreciation, they reveal much about how our culture envisions the natural world and the human place in it and how these ideas have changed.

Book Description
Zoos have found themselves continually under fire in recent decades. Animal rights activists initiated the attacks; at the same time regulatory agencies, anti-tax advocates, and an assortment of litigators have also targeted zoos. In an effort to defend themselves in this hostile landscape, zoos and aquariums joined forces under the leadership of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (now called the AZA). They learned to use the political system to their own advantage while at the same time crafting a more progressive public mission.

In The Politics of Zoos, Jesse Donahue and Erik Trump present a political biography of the AZA to show how the zoo community has emerged as a political player. Rather than recount the history of a faceless institution, the authors focus on the cohort of directors who navigated the political turbulence of the 1960s and 1970s and set the agenda for subsequent decades. Ironically, at a time when activists began to charge that zoos and aquariums did not know how to care for animals and did not care for the well-being of endangered species, the opposite was true. These institutions were increasingly attracting well-educated professionals who indeed cared a great deal.

Amidst controversies over ownership and funding, capture and disposal, and the health and well-being of animals on display, AZA leaders acted not merely to protect their own interests in the political arena but to ensure the welfare of captive animals and to assist with the conservation of wild species. Donahue and Trump's original study of the politics of American zoos and aquariums from the 1960s to the present draws upon interviews, archival sources, congressional records, court cases, regulatory hearings, media accounts, and the authors' ongoing field research. It will appeal to zoo professionals, political scientists, historians, and those concerned with animal welfare. ... Read more