Zoos are saving endangered species

MANY people think that zoos exist just to show off exotic animals and, indeed, educating the public is an important part of a modern zoo’s work.

However, the focus is shifting more and more towards research and conservation; zoos are becoming intensive care wards for species in danger of extinction. If an animal’s numbers in the wild become critically low, zoos may be its last hope.

The California condor and Przewalski’s horse were saved from extinction and restored to the wild thanks to zoo breeding programmes.