I’ve been told that a lot of animals you see in zoos are ones that would not survive out in the wild.
Like say tigers, if a mother has a set of tiger kitties, and one is not fast and strong enough to follow the mom and siblings, it is left behind, because the mother figures, like I mean through her survival instinct, that that little tiger is not gonna make it anyway. So she’s like, fuck you, son. Don’t know how true any of that is, but if it is, that most certainly varies depending on the type of animal it is. I wonder who’s job it is to track down wildlife and capture who’s left behind, or if not that, how they decide which animal to catch. (I mean, like as if crocodiles need our help in surviving, so my idea is totally off haha)
I never liked seeing birds in zoos because they’re in cages, and birds are supposed to fly. Seen eagles and big owls in caged areas. But even if some animals in zoos are being saved from natural selection, they’re probably not very happy. (or perhaps they are, I don’t know, I’m not a tiger or an owl) Exception, regarding this, may be some of the animals that have been used for centuries to being kept in captivity, like whatever Western farm section your local zoo has.
I find it hard to make a distinction between the incarceration system and zoos though, as both are completely different when it comes to intent. Except well, no animal ever did anything wrong, meanwhile, some people do. My opinion of anything did not shape that conclusion, but it’s the best observation I’ve made.