Bioparanoria

 On the rarest of occasions there comes into existence a specific organism that can truly be said to be genetically one-of-a-kind, possessing a unique attribute or history that we can say with near confidence has never occurred before and might never again. All the more surprising is when this occurs despite what we had assumed to be impossible. This is the story of a wee elephant like none other, who stunned the zoological community with his mere existence. Chester Zoo in England, founded in 1931, has long been called one of the greatest zoological gardens on Earth, with an impressive plethora of exhibits and a world-class conservation program. Dozens of elephants have called the zoo home over the decades since the opening of the elephant exhibit in 1941. One of these was Motty, the only known hybrid being an Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) and an African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta Africana). As the two species are in different genera, it was presumed that the two could never pro...

     I quite like zoological gardens and aquariums, for reasons that I hope to properly outline in this text. True, zoos can be noisy and crowded, but upon rare days in which it's just you and the animals, the experiences can be fantastic, allowing one to form a better appreciation of wildlife. I credit frequent trips to zoos as a young child as a key factor in my respect for the natural world. There's a lot of controversy surrounding zoos, some justifiable and some not. Unfortunately, I can't help but find those who write off all zoos as being "bad" are uneducated on the history of zoological gardens and their many conservation achievements. A Komodo Dragon at Singapore Zoo      As a better understanding of both the philosophy of animal welfare and the science of zoology has developed over the past few decades, the important question has arisen on if zoological gardens and aquariums are to be considered useful or ethical institutions. Many defenders claim ...