Today, July 1 is American Zoo Day. It’s a day that commemorates the grand opening of the first American zoo, or more correctly, zoological gardens, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1874. Back then many zoos were simply collections of captive animals held for people to look at, but zoos have changed a lot over the years. Instead of being animals held in cages, most zoos now strive to provide large enclosures that as closely as possible mimic the animal’s natural environments. Some zoos even provide large spaces where animals roam freely and visitors observe them from the enclosed spaces (automobiles, buses, or trams).

Today’s zoo are also important for captive breeding programs for threatened and endangered species (there are 39 species that are now extinct in the wild, but still exist in zoos), reintroduction programs to help reestablish or add genetic diversity to certain populations, education, research, and rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals. Today’s zoo populations are also very different from those in 1874. Most zoo animals today were either captive born or are animals that have become impaired somehow and cannot survive in the wild. Reputable zoos no longer capture animals from the wild for display purposes. Zoos now even have their own association that inspects and accredits them (Association of American Zoos and Aquariums). So help support accredited zoos by visiting and/or making donations to them. Helping your regional zoo helps to protect and provide for the animals and their care.