Our researchers spent time at a major metro area zoo to explore what the visitor experience was like. What did visitors tend to do and focus on? And importantly, what impressions did they take away regarding the zoo, its purpose, its value, and its function in relation to animal species and ecosystems? We found that adults are very open to the animal rights narrative that zoos are “prisons for animals,” but also that they are open to the idea that all wildlife is under human protection, and zoos have an important role to play both in conservation efforts and in bringing back endangered species.
