Zoos allow visitors to see exotic species, but their existence is controversial. Helen Raine looks at four that juggle conservation with ethical tourism.

Many of us were put off visiting zoos as children, after seeing too many bare, concrete cages with a moth-eaten tiger or miserable orangutan slumped in a corner.

It’s been a bumpy transition from old-school layouts to natural enclosures with plenty of animal enrichment – and some institutions haven’t quite got there yet.

But these days, several zoos stand out for putting welfare, conservation and sustainability at the forefront of everything that they do. Here are the ones to look out for on your travels.

Chester Zoo, UK

Black-headed spider monkeys are critically endangered in their native Colombia and Panama, under pressure from deforestation and hunting for meat.

At Chester Zoo, there’s a ray of hope however. Two tiny monkey babies have just been born.

It’s all part of the zoo’s mission to be a major force in conserving biodiversity worldwide. The organisation has a strong focus on welfare.

Keepers work constantly to keep up a good quality of life for the incredible 12,000 animals which live there and the Animal Health Centre ensures the very best veterinary care.

Exhibits such as the Asian Plains mix charismatic mega-fauna such as greater one-horned rhinoceros with brow-antlered deer and black buck for a natural experience.

The zoo plans to try to breed the rhino for conservation purposes.

Or you can try its Butterfly Journey, where butterflies and moths fly free in an ‘immersive’ environment.

The park is a model of ethical treatment, with huge natural enclosures where animals can hide or display themselves

Each exhibit aims to press home some of the zoo’s key messages such as ‘interdependence’, the idea that all living things, including humans, live in ecosystems and depend on other living things for their survival.

But as far as the kids are concerned, it’s just good, old-fashioned fun.

Munda Wanga Environmental Park, Lusaka, Zambia

Munda Wanga is a small zoo and you won’t find it on any Top 10 lists.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t doing important work, however.

It’s located just outside of the Zambian capital, Lusaka, and for a long time, was in a dismal state, with visitors keeping the miserable animals alive by feeding them whatever they had.

However, in 1998, the zoo began a transformative journey and while it’s still small and low-tech, the enclosures and welfare standards are vastly improved.

It offers local children a chance to connect with animals that live in their country but that the poorest families are unlikely to ever see in the wild. Safari trips are way out of the price range of the average Zambian.

Studies have shown that people are less likely to care about their native animals unless they actually have some experience with them.

The zoo is doing an amazing job at weaving a conservation narrative into a fun day out.

The wildlife park has more than 45 different species, mostly from Zambia, while the sanctuary houses animals confiscated from the illegal pet trade or injured due to poaching. The zoo aims to rehabilitate and release them back to the wild.

 

San Diego Zoo, US

The vision of this mega-zoo is to lead the fight against extinction and, to that end, the San Diego Zoo staff are spearheading dozens of captive breeding projects.

One of the most recent was a delicate operation to collect the eggs of the highly endangered ’akikiki and ’akeke’e honeycreeper birds, which live in the forests of Kauai, Hawaii.

Without this intervention, the fate of the bird would be highly uncertain – with fewer than 500 and 1,000 individuals respectively of each species left in the wild, extinction is a real possibility.

The 40-hectare zoo is home to more than 3,700 endangered animals and a botanical collection of more than 700,000 plants.

With so much ground to cover, most people take a guided bus tour around the huge park, hopping on and off at the exhibits they wish to see.

A particular favourite is the panda breeding programme.

Female Bai Yun has successfully raised six cubs since 1999 and the zoo has carried out studies exploring maternal care, cub development and mate choice.

Their team collaborates with researchers in China to track animals with radio collars and reintroduce bears born in breeding centers back into the wild.

Durrell Wildlife Park, Trinity, Jersey

If you were in any doubt that zoos can contribute meaningfully to conservation, the Durrell Park will set you right.

Around the world, 63 endangered species have undergone major recoveries since the 1980s. Durrell has led or supported projects on more than a tenth of these.

Examples include the Mauritius kestrel. Before the zoo intervened, there were just four birds left in the world. Now there are around 350.

Similarly, the echo parakeet went from 10 birds to 500 and the Rodrigues fruit bat went from 350 animals to 10,000.

The park is a model of ethical treatment of animals, with huge, natural enclosures, where the animals can choose to hide away from prying eyes or to display themselves in all their glory.

And while the kids (and adults) are having tons of fun pretending to be meerkats, they’re also learning about how we can protect these creatures in their natural environment.

Durrell sets the bar high – it’s to be hoped that other zoos can follow.