How did zoos develop

Increasingly, modern zoos today are not just seen as a place to see local and exotic animals, but they are treated as places of conservation. However, we can see that in relatively recent history that was not the case, as many older zoos have display areas and cages that clearly were intended to simply display animals to a curious public. The history of zoos has changed, from one of limited display to upper society, to one that was accessible to many. Furthermore, the importance of the animals and how they were seen has changed.

Development of the Concept of a Zoo

Both ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia had a concept of zoos developed in their ancient societies by at least around 2500 BC. In Egypt, including in Saqqara, a zoo has been found, where exotic animals such as antelopes, baboons, hyenas, cheetahs, cranes, storks and falcons were likely kept. In southern Mesopotamia, royal figures seem to have kept wild animals. However, the reasons for keeping these animals may have varied. In Egypt, some of these animals may have been seen as sacred as well as a form of royal pet, while in Mesopotamia taming wild animals was seen as demonstrating the power of kings and the royal line. In fact, a king fighting a lion or tiger, at least shown as a symbolic depiction, indicated the power of royalty. Keeping such animals may have been done to even eventually have a type of royal combat with these animals. By 13th century BC, larger animals, such as elephants and giraffes, and even more exotic species were being kept. In Egypt, giraffes and pet lions were recorded to have been kept by Ramses II.

In the period of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, from the 9th to 7th centuries BC, tigers were being kept in enclosures and often were depicted in wall reliefs. What may have differed in some of these enclosures is there seems to have been an attempt to also reconstruct the ecosystem in which tigers. Sennacherib, king of Assyria from 704 – 682 BC, created a marsh-like environment and garden in his royal city of Nineveh that not only contained exotic plants but also was intended to recreate the marsh and wider environment of certain tiger species.