If you walk around any zoo in the UK you will see information signs next to all of the enclosures. Many detail what threatens the animals’ populations in the wild. One word that comes up again and again is deforestation. Zoos claim to offer wild animals a safe haven from this plight, where they can live free from the fear of losing their home. This is what they call “conservation”, but in reality, every animal in a zoo has already lost their home, and their zoo enclosure cannot replace what they have lost. This International Day of Forests, we are taking a closer look at what forests mean to animals in relation to conservation. We will see how conserving animals at home – in the forests where they belong – is not only better for the animals, but better for the forests themselves.
What forests mean to animals
Forests come in many shapes and sizes: from British woodlands to North American ponderosa forests, and from great rainforests like the Amazon to the mangrove forests of Indonesia. They are all unique, biodiverse, and vital to the survival of thousands of species. While animals in and around forests have plenty of space to roam in the wild, zoos often provide one to two trees or climbing structures. But is it really enough?
Typically, you can see squirrel monkeys in small, roofed enclosures in zoos. In the wild, they spend almost their entire lives in the very tops of the trees. They learn to swing from the treetops from an early age, and find everything they need high in the jungle canopy. This is why the very concept of a roof for these acrobatic animals is confusing, disturbing, and contrary to their nature. This is true for thousands of species of arboreal mammals, as well as birds, reptiles, and invertebrates. There is simply no way to replicate the rich habitat of the forest within a zoo.
What animals mean to forests
Species that live in forests have evolved over millions of years to do so. Each step in their evolution has provided them with unique adaptations that make it not only natural, but essential, that they inhabit forests. Not only that, but the entire network of life that exists within forests has evolved along the same trajectory. Each plant, animal, and fungus grows there not by accident, but because it is the best place on earth for them to thrive. Just as forest animals cannot thrive outside of them, forests themselves cannot survive without their natural inhabitants.
The trillions of trees that make up earth’s forests have evolved to provide life, food, and shelter to the animals around them, but also to depend on those animals for their own survival. There are so many ways in which forests cannot survive without the wild animals that live in them:
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Animals that feed on their fruits disperse seeds to plant their next generation – many seeds cannot germinate or disperse properly without the help of animal digestion.
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The droppings of forest animals fertilise new growth, not only for trees, but for fungi that help to process dead matter, enrich the soil, and exchange nutrients with trees.
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Trees, when consumed by herbivores or insects, emit a specific scent that predators have become attuned to. This attracts them to come and eat the animals feasting on the tree, maintaining the balance of life in the forest. It’s incredible to think that trees call to animals for help when under attack, but if those animals only exist in zoos, no help is coming.
Why captivity is not the answer
Forest life is an incredibly rich and complex web of life, and every element of it must be protected. The loss of a single species may tip the balance so that another species becomes overwhelmed by competitors or predators. The model of ‘conservation’ offered by zoos suggests that we can maintain the natural world by keeping and breeding all of its inhabitants in isolation. That is simply not borne out by science or by evolutionary history. We must care for all species in the wild habitats where they belong, and we must protect those habitats, such as forests.
Deforestation is a very real threat to all species on earth, including humanity. Keeping forest animals in captivity in an effort to save them may seem helpful, but it is counterproductive. Deforestation has been so widespread and destructive that there is now a strong focus on reforestation as part of the solution. Reforestation is a laborious task for human beings, but it is innately natural to forest animals. It is built into the foundations of evolution, and by protecting wild animals in forests, we maintain their ability to disperse seeds, protect plants, and fertilise new growth.
What forests and animals need from us
There is, perhaps, an arrogance in assuming that humans must invent solutions to the problems we have created. However, if we look to the natural world and the animals with which we share it, we will easily see that those animals have always had the answer. All that remains for us to do is to give them the space they need to put their solutions into practice and, crucially, accept that captivity is a part of the disease, not the cure.
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