The dark side of the zoo: sloth puppy was born in a display case in front of visitors, but dies a few weeks later

The Como Park Zoo & Conservatoryin the St. Louis area, he experienced a succession of conflicting emotions within a few weeks. Last April 2ndvisitors had remained speechless in front of the Sudden birth of a slut puzzlewhich took place in a display case open to the public, in front of everyone’s eyes.

Nobody, not even the staff, knew that Sagoa female of sloth 6 -year teachingwas pregnant. The alleged father is Ziggyanother sloth of 3 yearswho lives with sago inside the Primate Buildingan exhibition space in which animals are observable by the public.

Unfortunately, after a month, the story took a tragic fold. The puppy was found lifeless. For now the cause of death is not yet clear: the results of the necroscopy. The custodians are monitoring Sago carefully, which is followed with individualized care.

Can we really call it life?

Double news that cannot exempt us from making some reflections. Although childbirth may seem like an idyllic and exciting moment for visitors who have lived it, behind all this there is a much less happy context: that of living beings exposed to the public dailydeprived of freedom and forced to live in artificially reconstructed environments.

AND This is really the right way to get to know and protect animals? The birth of a sloth in a zoo may seem like a tender or educational event, but it should not make us forget that these animals do not belong to a stage. The zoo are not sanctuaries, but confinement spacesoften inadequate to the ethological needs of the species.

This, as mentioned, was followed by the loss of the puppy who in his drama brings to the center an important theme: The vulnerability of animals in captivity. The death of a small one in a closed, controlled context should make us reflect on the real effectiveness and humanity of these places. Despite the care and attention of the operators, it is not said that an artificial environment guarantees the ideal conditions for development and survival.

And then We can really call it lifethe one spent among the glasses of a display case, under the constant gaze of the public? The emotion for a birth or mourning in these contexts should not make us forget that The true protection of fauna passes through the conservation of natural habitatsnot the prison decorated. Animals are not tourist attractions, but complex living beings, with precise ethological needs, difficult to replicate in a zoo.