Jason G. Goldman is a graduate student in developmental
psychology at the Jason G. Goldman is a graduate student in
developmental psychology at the Sometimes, zoo animals behave
unnaturally. Most animals on display at zoos are not really
designed for captive living. If you’ve been to a zoo, no doubt
you’ve noticed evidence of this: a tiger who paces back and
forth, or a monkey that does nothing but circle the enclosure.
Life in captivity can even result in various forms of self-harm:
a bird that plucks out its feathers, or a horse that bites at
her own body, occasionally drawing blood. Sometimes, zoo animals
behave naturally. They mate. Or refuse to mate. They groom
eachother. They get sick. They get better. They care for their
young. They sleep – a lot. It must have been extremely
unsettling for a handful of zoogoers to watch a male chimpanzee
kill a three month old infant female chimpanzee at the LA Zoo on
Tuesday. She was the first chimpanzee to be born at the LA Zoo
in thirteen years and was therefore, in