Ricky Perlman
Dr. Leah Schwartz
Environmental Studies
12/10/08
Event 2
The event I attended was a visit to the Bronx Zoo from about 12pm to 4pm on October 15, 2008. The zoo is located on 2300 Southern Boulevard Bronx, NY. The tone of the event was a mix between nature appreciation, education for the general public, and awareness for environmental concerns. People who wanted to appreciate nature could observe and enjoy looking at the animals; however, these people were also educated and made aware of environmental concerns through signs and other features present at the different exhibits.
When people visiting the Bronx Zoo first buy their tickets they receive a map of the entire zoo. Upon actually entering the zoo it is up to the visitor to decide exactly what he or she gets out of their trip. They have all sorts of options as to what animals and exhibits people can choose to see. If somebody came to the zoo to appreciate and observe the lions they can go to the African Plains exhibit or if they came to see the gorillas they could go to the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit. However, not only are fans able to appreciate nature by observing their favorite animals in various exhibits, they are also educated and made aware of environmental concerns. At each exhibit there is information about each animal, including its current population status and whether it is endangered or even worse on the brink of extinction. These informational signs explain exactly what is causing the survival problems for the specific animal and how these problems can be alleviated. Not only does the zoo try to inform people about different environmental concerns by posting information on signs throughout the exhibits, but it also tries to educate people as well. For example, in the Congo Gorilla Forest, there was an educational movie, “Saving Africa’s Forest”, which talks about the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) efforts to protect wildlife in Africa.
My trip to the Bronx Zoo was both a familiar and a new experience for me. Although I have been to the zoo many times when I was a little kid, the way in which I went about my visit was completely different this time. When I was little, I went to the zoo for the shear entertainment of seeing all the different animals; however, when I recently went to the zoo, I actually went with the intention of learning something. Prior to my visit, I was unaware of all the animals, such as the Siberian tiger and the grizzly bear that are actually endangered until I read some of the many informational signs posted within the different exhibits.
This endangered status that is threatening many different animals, if not treated, can potentially lead to the extinction of these animals. As we have learned in our environmental class, the extinction of an animal can pose a major problem to the environment. This problem of extinction can be seen most drastically if the animal going extinct is a keystone species, a species whose removal from an ecosystem can cause a major change in the general nature of that community.
After attending the Bronx Zoo I definitely gained a greater appreciation for the conservation of our world’s animals and its environments. I used to think losing a species to extinction was not that big a deal, but after learning how many species face this problem and learning how this effects our environment in class, I definitely changed my opinion. The Bronx Zoo has more of an entertainment value to the community than an educational. This is because it only educates people who want to be educated. Few people, beside those who wanted to learn, read the signs and information posted throughout the park; most people go just to see the animals for entertainment.
The zoo definitely has a positive impact on the community because of its work with the Wildlife Conservation Society. It is an organization that works toward the preservation of wildlife and wild lands. There are stations at the Bronx Zoo where people can, not only donate money to these causes, but they can vote for which causes they want the zoo to focus more heavily on. Although the zoo clearly achieved its goals of raising funds for these causes, I do not think that it achieved its goal of educating people who go to the zoo. As stated before, too many people go to the zoo only to see the animals and they do not read the informational signs throughout the park. Unfortunately there is not much that I would suggest for the park to do in order to help its cause. It is up to the people to inform themselves, the park can’t force people to read the information. However, the zoo could try to bring more attention to these causes maybe on its maps or other areas people are more likely to look.
I definitely enjoyed going to the Bronx Zoo and truly think it was worthwhile to go there. The trip served as a fun entertaining experience and an informational one as well. I got to see some of my favorite animals and learn about them at the same time. Going to the Bronx Zoo has definitely inspired me to learn more about what can be done to help all these endangered species. I think it is important for everybody in this class, since the zoo is so close and accessible, to visit it with an academic frame of mind before they graduate New York University.