It’s not Australia, but koalas feel at home. If you are the sort
of person who complains about overly large zoo exhibits that
allow animals to stray from the most prominent viewing areas,
you should take a closer look at what these wildlife parks are
trying to accomplish. As “Gorilla Tropics,” “Polar Bear Plunge,”
and other San Diego Zoo areas demonstrate in Animal Attractions,
the zoo is not a “living museum,” but a place where animals
should feel at home. Today, zoos combine educational exhibit
areas with backstage research areas where zoologists study the
animals under their care. Visitors are captivated by animals at
the zoo. During the latter part of the 20th century, zoos began
to provide a new experience for visitors by replacing the iron
bars and concrete walls of cages with protective moats, bigger
animal areas, and recreated tropical rainforests. The San Diego
Zoo, founded in 1916, helped pioneer this shift. Zoos used to
keep all animals in cages. In 1868, Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo
was reportedly t