Totem animals and zoos
The idea of a link between a specific species and a specific place or particular human culture is hardly new. In the UK alone we have the ravens of the Tower of London, the swans of Stratford Upon Avon. More generally both the sparrow and the feral pigeon are loosely associated with London. Then there are the Barbary Apes, symbol of the Rock of Gibraltar ( no offense to any Spanish readers). Obviously nations and regions around the world have animals as national symbols ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_animals).
But surprisingly it is a very patchy list.
Some zoos do specialise in particular taxons ( Les Felins d’Auneau http://www.brassel.net/Brassel.net/E5F2A6A5-445E-428D-AE83-C37EA221BBFD.html for example, or the marvellous Apenheul Primate Park http://www.apenheul.nl/, but most cling to the ‘supermarket’ zoo idea and do not brand themselves around a particular animal or animal group. Perhaps this is a commercial inevitability, as the public will always want to see a wide representation of the animal kingdom?
Still , I cannot help obsessing on the idea of building or supporting a specific, individual ‘authentic’ sense of place. This idea of unique flavour of place ( culture) is after all what drives the world’s biggest industry, tourism. People spend vast amounts to sample the particular cuisine, architecture, landscape, heritage and other people of other parts of the world.
Is there not some way in which zoos could contribute to and benefit from this agenda? Either by building part of their identity around a specific exotic species ( cf the Lions of Longleat) or adopting and presenting native species in an appropriate cultural framework?
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