Scribd
Upload
3 views

Zoo Management - Principles and Practices

Effective zoo management prioritizes animal care and visitor experience while ensuring business sustainability. Key practices include maintaining animal health, proper facility upkeep, organizational structure, and thorough record-keeping. Health and safety measures are crucial for protecting staff, animals, and visitors.

Uploaded by

Mc 'Rage
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
3 views

Zoo Management - Principles and Practices

Effective zoo management prioritizes animal care and visitor experience while ensuring business sustainability. Key practices include maintaining animal health, proper facility upkeep, organizational structure, and thorough record-keeping. Health and safety measures are crucial for protecting staff, animals, and visitors.

Uploaded by

Mc 'Rage
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

General zoo management, principles and practices

The first priority of managing a zoo is to balance the provision of excellent animal management and care
with an optimal visitor experience and quality customer service.

Most important in any zoo or aquarium is the animals in their care. This means the zoo needs to take
good care of its animals.

Healthy animals have a longer lifespan and a higher reproductive rate. If the animals are well cared for,
the zoo can house the individual animal for a longer period of time and will breed animals to replace
animals that have died

Zoos also have to keep the business running: zoo management has to ensure that the business is run
properly and that visitors are attracted to the zoo. They also have to ensure that visitors have a pleasant
time so they will think of coming back again. Zoo management includes the following.

- Sustainable Practice: Zoos should be aware of the importance of sustainability in the zoo and
follow sustainable practices in their work.
Zoos should also be ethical with their approach and assess the environmental impact
- Collection and resource Planning: Zoos should be able to describe the role of different species
in the collection and how this relates to their collection planning. The animal collection in a zoo
is of great importance: without animals there would not be a zoo. Therefore, a zoo has to think
carefully which animals it would like to care for now and in the future
- Maintenance: It is important that buildings, pathways, fences etc. in zoos are properly
maintained. This will provide a safe environment for staff, visitors and animals. It also ensures
that the zoo looks nice and tidy.
Zoos should put maintenance and safety at the top of their priorities
Planning and development of zoo facilities should be done efficiently and effectively
- Organizational Structure, Administration and Functions: Zoos should understand the wide
range of functions that are required to run a zoo.
The administration should make policies and ensure everything is within the legislation.
The administration should also ensure proper personnel management
Zoos should have a clear system in place regarding every issue that can arise in day to
day activities
- Management: Zoos should examine and adjust as necessary the zoo’s organizational design to
align its diverse functions and improve coordination. Clearly articulated roles and responsibilities
and established decision-making authority across units is also a good way to ensure effective
management.
- Animal record keeping: Keeping animal records is extremely important. Good animal records
will help keeping track of everything that happens in the animal department and everything that
has happened in the past. It will also allow easy sharing of information with other institutions,
which is the basis for population management.
- Zookeeping:
Routine: Having a routine for each animal department is very important. If staff work
according to a routine, there is less chance of work being forgotten or postponed.
Observations: The keepers should check ‘their’ animals daily. By observing the animals
on a regular basis, keepers will notice any unexpected changes in the behavior of the
animals. Such behavioral changes could be a sign of health (or other) problems and if
spotted quickly, the veterinarian can act immediately if necessary.
Cleaning: Animal enclosures should be cleaned on a daily basis. Cleaning prevents the
spread of disease and therefore ensures a healthy environment for animals and staff
- Health and safety: Health and safety are extremely important aspects of zoo management. It is
essential that steps are taken to ensure the health of staff and animals. Good hygiene and
preventative measures should be in place to prevent disease and zoonoses (disease transmitted
from animal to human). Both the safety of staff (and animals) and the safety of visitors needs to
be guaranteed.

You might also like