06-27-2018, 11:41 AM
I'm not sure about the rest of the world but I know in the UK zoo's are not government funded and must generate their own funds. The entry fee is the most obvious source of income for a zoo that contributes to their funding for conservation work. Zoo's may also set up 'adoption' programmes for the public for animal sponsorship or start up charities. My personal favourite charity is the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust based at Jersey Zoo. Gerald Durrell has been responsible for a lot of important conservation programmes, one that springs to mind is that of the Mauritius Kestrel. In 1974 the Kestrels population dropped to only 4 individuals so were considered a functionally extinct species. Gerald Durrell helped set up a highly ambitious breeding programme and brought the species back from the cusp of extinction! Jersey Zoo is as an endangered species breeding centre and has contributed to safeguarding some of the worlds vulnerable species from extinction. They're a perfect example of how a zoo should be run in my opinion.
In regards to the apparent coming 'Ice age', the earth is actually currently still in an ice age but we are in an interglacial period (the Holocene). Ice ages go through periods of glaciation and interglacials, these last for thousands of years, this interglacial has been going for approximately 11,500 years. The next glaciation won't be for thousands of years, I think the hype is a result of poor representation of scientific literature from the media. There have been studies speculating the effects of increasing melt water on the gulf stream, and postulating how this could effect global temperatures but the study was taken out of context by media hype. There were no such conclusions on Ice ages from these studies.
Global warming has been massively accelerated through human activity however, and the threats that global warming poses to our planets ecosystems are very real.
In regards to the apparent coming 'Ice age', the earth is actually currently still in an ice age but we are in an interglacial period (the Holocene). Ice ages go through periods of glaciation and interglacials, these last for thousands of years, this interglacial has been going for approximately 11,500 years. The next glaciation won't be for thousands of years, I think the hype is a result of poor representation of scientific literature from the media. There have been studies speculating the effects of increasing melt water on the gulf stream, and postulating how this could effect global temperatures but the study was taken out of context by media hype. There were no such conclusions on Ice ages from these studies.
Global warming has been massively accelerated through human activity however, and the threats that global warming poses to our planets ecosystems are very real.
