- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Foreword
-
Introduction Zoo and Aquarium Conservation: Past, Present, Future -
Chapter One Animals in Circulation: The “Prehistory” of Modern Zoos -
Chapter Two The World as Zoo: Acclimatization in the Nineteenth Century -
Chapter Three Historic and Cultural Foundations of Zoo Conservation: A Narrative Timeline -
Chapter Four Teetering on the Brink of Extinction: The Passenger Pigeon, the Bison, and American Zoo Culture in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries -
Chapter Five American Zoos: A Shifting Balance between Recreation and Conservation -
Chapter Six (Re)Introducing the Przewalski’s Horse -
Chapter Seven Conservation Constellations: Aquariums in Aquatic Conservation Networks -
Chapter Eight Committing to Conservation: Can Zoos and Aquariums Deliver on Their Promise? -
Chapter Nine Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE): Unifying the Conservation Approach of AZA-Accredited Zoos and Aquariums -
Chapter Ten Integrating Ex Situ Management Options as Part of a One Plan Approach to Species Conservation -
Chapter Eleven Zoos and Gorilla Conservation: Have We Moved beyond a Piecemeal Approach? -
Chapter Twelve Lessons from Thirty-One Years at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Reflections on Aquariums’ Expanding Role in Conservation Action -
Chapter Thirteen The Phoenix Zoo Story: Building a Legacy of Conservation -
Chapter Fourteen Bears or Butterflies? How Should Zoos Make Value-Driven Decisions about Their Collections? -
Chapter Fifteen Why Zoos Have Animals: Exploring the Complex Pathway from Experiencing Animals to Pro-environmental Behaviors -
Chapter Sixteen People in the Zoo: A Social Context for Conservation -
Chapter Seventeen From Sad Zoo to Happy Zoo: The Changing Animal Welfare and Conservation Priorities of the Seoul Zoo in South Korea -
Chapter Eighteen Wildlife Wellness: A New Ethical Frontier for Zoos and Aquariums -
Chapter Nineteen Zoos and Sustainability: Can Zoos Go beyond Ethical Individualism to Protect Resilient Systems? -
Chapter Twenty Opportunities and Challenges for Conserving Small Populations: An Emerging Role for Zoos in Genetic Rescue -
Chapter Twenty-One Cloning in the Zoo: When Zoos Become Parents -
Chapter Twenty-Two Advancing Laboratory-Based Zoo Research to Enhance Captive Breeding of Southern White Rhinoceros -
Chapter Twenty-Three Beyond the Walls: Applied Field Research for the Twenty-First-Century Public Aquarium and Zoo -
Chapter Twenty-Four Frogs in Glass Boxes: Responses of Zoos to Global Amphibian Extinctions -
Chapter Twenty-Five Sustaining Wildlife Populations in Human Care: An Existential Value Proposition for Zoos -
Chapter Twenty-Six Reflections on Zoos and Aquariums and the Role of the Regional Biopark -
Chapter Twenty-Seven Today’s Awe-Inspiring Design, Tomorrow’s Plexiglas Dinosaur: How Public Aquariums Contradict Their Conservation Mandate in Pursuit of Immersive Underwater Displays -
Chapter Twenty-Eight Zoo Conservation Disembarks: Stepping off the Ark and into Global Sustainable Development -
Chapter Twenty-Nine Rewilding the Lifeboats -
Chapter Thirty The Parallax Zoo - Acknowledgments
- Notes
- References
- Contributors
- Index
Teetering on the Brink of Extinction: The Passenger Pigeon, the Bison, and American Zoo Culture in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
Teetering on the Brink of Extinction: The Passenger Pigeon, the Bison, and American Zoo Culture in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
- Chapter:
- (p.51) Chapter Four Teetering on the Brink of Extinction: The Passenger Pigeon, the Bison, and American Zoo Culture in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
- Source:
- The Ark and Beyond
- Author(s):
Mark V. Barrow
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
This chapter examines how American zoological gardens responded to the rapid, nearly simultaneous decline of two iconic species at the turn of the nineteenth century: the bison and the passenger pigeon. The North American continent once supported extensive populations of both species, which inspired awe and wonder in the European settlers who encountered them. During the second half of the nineteenth century, however, habitat destruction, competition from exotic species, and especially large-scale commercial exploitation facilitated by newly constructed rail networks produced dramatic declines in both populations. As a result, the bison and the passenger pigeon were both facing extinction by the end of the nineteenth century. Wildlife conservationists successfully mobilized to save the bison, and the New York Zoological Park (opened in 1899) began a captive bison herd that helped repopulate several newly created federal reserves in the West. They failed, however, to rally behind the passenger pigeon, and the last known specimen perished at the Cincinnati Zoo on September 1, 1914. The New York Zoological Park’s captive breeding experiments proved the exception rather than the rule during this period, when zoos remained primarily focused on entertaining and educating the public, rather than trying to save endangered species.
Keywords: extinction, captive breeding, American bison, passenger pigeon, commodification, wildlife conservation, New York Zoological Park, Cincinnati Zoo
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- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Foreword
-
Introduction Zoo and Aquarium Conservation: Past, Present, Future -
Chapter One Animals in Circulation: The “Prehistory” of Modern Zoos -
Chapter Two The World as Zoo: Acclimatization in the Nineteenth Century -
Chapter Three Historic and Cultural Foundations of Zoo Conservation: A Narrative Timeline -
Chapter Four Teetering on the Brink of Extinction: The Passenger Pigeon, the Bison, and American Zoo Culture in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries -
Chapter Five American Zoos: A Shifting Balance between Recreation and Conservation -
Chapter Six (Re)Introducing the Przewalski’s Horse -
Chapter Seven Conservation Constellations: Aquariums in Aquatic Conservation Networks -
Chapter Eight Committing to Conservation: Can Zoos and Aquariums Deliver on Their Promise? -
Chapter Nine Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE): Unifying the Conservation Approach of AZA-Accredited Zoos and Aquariums -
Chapter Ten Integrating Ex Situ Management Options as Part of a One Plan Approach to Species Conservation -
Chapter Eleven Zoos and Gorilla Conservation: Have We Moved beyond a Piecemeal Approach? -
Chapter Twelve Lessons from Thirty-One Years at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Reflections on Aquariums’ Expanding Role in Conservation Action -
Chapter Thirteen The Phoenix Zoo Story: Building a Legacy of Conservation -
Chapter Fourteen Bears or Butterflies? How Should Zoos Make Value-Driven Decisions about Their Collections? -
Chapter Fifteen Why Zoos Have Animals: Exploring the Complex Pathway from Experiencing Animals to Pro-environmental Behaviors -
Chapter Sixteen People in the Zoo: A Social Context for Conservation -
Chapter Seventeen From Sad Zoo to Happy Zoo: The Changing Animal Welfare and Conservation Priorities of the Seoul Zoo in South Korea -
Chapter Eighteen Wildlife Wellness: A New Ethical Frontier for Zoos and Aquariums -
Chapter Nineteen Zoos and Sustainability: Can Zoos Go beyond Ethical Individualism to Protect Resilient Systems? -
Chapter Twenty Opportunities and Challenges for Conserving Small Populations: An Emerging Role for Zoos in Genetic Rescue -
Chapter Twenty-One Cloning in the Zoo: When Zoos Become Parents -
Chapter Twenty-Two Advancing Laboratory-Based Zoo Research to Enhance Captive Breeding of Southern White Rhinoceros -
Chapter Twenty-Three Beyond the Walls: Applied Field Research for the Twenty-First-Century Public Aquarium and Zoo -
Chapter Twenty-Four Frogs in Glass Boxes: Responses of Zoos to Global Amphibian Extinctions -
Chapter Twenty-Five Sustaining Wildlife Populations in Human Care: An Existential Value Proposition for Zoos -
Chapter Twenty-Six Reflections on Zoos and Aquariums and the Role of the Regional Biopark -
Chapter Twenty-Seven Today’s Awe-Inspiring Design, Tomorrow’s Plexiglas Dinosaur: How Public Aquariums Contradict Their Conservation Mandate in Pursuit of Immersive Underwater Displays -
Chapter Twenty-Eight Zoo Conservation Disembarks: Stepping off the Ark and into Global Sustainable Development -
Chapter Twenty-Nine Rewilding the Lifeboats -
Chapter Thirty The Parallax Zoo - Acknowledgments
- Notes
- References
- Contributors
- Index
