Man Made Enclosures VS The Wild

I had always wondered what everyone's thoughts where on this.

If you ask me, i believe that most of the animals we keep are better off in captivity than left to the harsh possibilities of the wild and the natural food chain.


Do you think an animal is better off in "The Wild" where it can get all forms of parasites, attacked by predatory animals, shortened lifespan, massive fluctuations in temperature forcing the animal to move long distances to find a comfortable temp, possible shortages of food, having to actually HUNT for there food with no guarantee of finding anything and having a good chance of going months without food?

Good Question

This is kind of a tough question, but I think I have to say the wild. Sure, animals get better treatment and conditions in captivity, but there truly is nothing greater than seeing one free in the wild. Now, this is not to say that I am against keeping animals in captivity because, well, I do. In fact, humans have brought animals back from the brink of extinction by keeping them in captivity and then re-releasing them back to the wild. Then again, it was usually because of humans that the animals were going extinct in the first place. I guess that in the end, if I had the choice to keep a lion or something in the most perfect way possible in captivity or live on the African savannah where I could see them roam free, I would have to choose living on the savannah.
Born freeeee......as free as the wind blows.....

I think i would definitely love to be in the african savannah also. Just to see them in there natural environment.

But basically what im asking is, do you think there lives are better off with us, or in the wild. It is great to see them in the wild, and im not saying we should take entire species from the wild. Im just saying once they go from wild to captive, do you think they are better off?

Also, do you think they enjoy captivity more or do you think that it scares them, all the time, not just when they first get here?

Theories and opinion of a old guy

the problem is with so many captive animals and including exotics is cage space in captivity. We as humans think in terms of animals wants and needs. We don't know. We have info. We have stats. But that's all. If we had begun the program of keeping certain animals in captivity , like the Condor , earlier, perhaps the come back would of been faster or the trail of extermination wouldn't of been so apparent, or close to it. Do we really know the longevity of wild animals ( in this case reptiles ) in the wild outdoors ? This is no matter of parasites, diseases, predators, and or climatic events. The theory > is given the needs of an wild animal in captivity,what else could it want ? My opinion > I don't know even with me keeping. Is my captive wild caught happy ? Are they " psychologically " happy ? There was a BIG front page story in some major newspapers yesterday on this very topic on the circuses and Elephants. it related to the psychological and physiological care/needs of elephants in captivity but mostly of the famous circuses that still have them around the globe. This was addressed as taken from wild and born in capiivty both.

Well, with elephants i think thats a completely different story.

Elephants are a PACK animal. Which means they like to be with large numbers of other elephants. Plus, they travel ALOT!!

Snakes and reptiles for the most part have a centralized "Territory". Which is where they like to stay and hunt for the most part. They dont travel in packs, so "wild socialization" really doesnt play a major part. Plus, alot of them are small and easily taken down by many different predatory creatures. Now a burm, tic or boa on the other hand doesnt have many predators, but they still have some.

Mike, you asked if we really know the longevity of wild animals in the wild. I say yes, and my reason why i say this is because we've placed tracking chips in many different species to track that specific animal's lifespan, range, etc... So i can honestly say "Yes, we have a good idea".

but as I also have been

in case studies, it is only as good as it works. Agreed. I still say except for large reptiles, we would be very pressed to know on longevity of a natural lifespan. We did ours with several snapping turtles. The state or i think the state was involved, was on a large alligator snapper. On really big boids, pythons, larger crocodillions, some large lizards like iguanas and monitor species and tortoises, not much predation when any size is reached other than human conflict. But as I said this then I thought of the common box turtle and the case study of wild life span. But let's keep in mind that the tracking device method has only been around to my knowledge of what, a decade and a half ? Maybe 2 decades on that Kansas alligator snapper though. Remember I'm talking in terms of general. WE all know of captive specimens of lifespans. While you either had seen the article of the elephant story or know.you are correct in the social and pack order but that was not my point...........my opinion and my .02 cents. thanks

HerpLuver said:

Well, with elephants i think thats a completely different story.

Elephants are a PACK animal. Which means they like to be with large numbers of other elephants. Plus, they travel ALOT!!

Snakes and reptiles for the most part have a centralized "Territory". Which is where they like to stay and hunt for the most part. They dont travel in packs, so "wild socialization" really doesnt play a major part. Plus, alot of them are small and easily taken down by many different predatory creatures. Now a burm, tic or boa on the other hand doesnt have many predators, but they still have some.

Mike, you asked if we really know the longevity of wild animals in the wild. I say yes, and my reason why i say this is because we've placed tracking chips in many different species to track that specific animal's lifespan, range, etc... So i can honestly say "Yes, we have a good idea".

Click to expand...

Are they better off in the wild?
A few years ago I would have said YES. Now that I'm a few years older and see the world from a different perspective I would have to say NO.

Why, you ask, because captivity is a risk free, worry free live. IF the person responsible for the animal takes care of the animal beyond the minimum requirements.

---
Skylinux
Network-Technologies.org - Breeding Gerbils Project

Im not sure. I think they can live longer, and in the right hands be guranteed food,water, temps, overall saftey. I wonder if (and by saying this I am not in anyway suggesting that we don't keep them the best we can) if we may not be making them weak. I meen in the wild only few survive, is that because some are carying inferior genes or things that shouldnt be passed down? As stated, I love my snakes and will do what I can for them, these are just thoughts.