Skip to main content

Welcome to vet library

Home > MISCELLANEOUS > General Topics > Life at the Zoo: Behind the Scenes with the Animal Doctors

Life at the Zoo: Behind the Scenes with the Animal Doctors

0,00 

Since the early days of traveling menageries and staged attractions that included animal acts, balloon ascents, and pyrotechnic displays, zoos have come a long way. The Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris, founded in 1793, didn’t offer its great apes lessons in parenting or perform dental surgery on leopards. Certainly the introduction of veterinary care in the nineteenth century—and its gradual integration into the twentieth—has had much to do with this. Today, we expect more of zoos as animal welfare concerns have escalated along with steady advances in science, medicine, and technology. Life at the Zoo is an eminent zoo veterinarian’s personal account…

Description

Since the early days of traveling menageries and staged attractions that included animal acts, balloon ascents, and pyrotechnic displays, zoos have come a long way. The Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris, founded in 1793, didn’t offer its great apes lessons in parenting or perform dental surgery on leopards. Certainly the introduction of veterinary care in the nineteenth century—and its gradual integration into the twentieth—has had much to do with this. Today, we expect more of zoos as animal welfare concerns have escalated along with steady advances in science, medicine, and technology. Life at the Zoo is an eminent zoo veterinarian’s personal account of the challenges presented by the evolution of zoos and the expectations of their visitors. Based on fifteen years of work at the world-famous San Diego Zoo, this charming book reveals the hazards and rewards of running a modern zoo. 660 p.

Authors expertises affiliations

  • Phillip T. Robinson. Former Head of Veterinary Medical Programs, Director of Veterinary Services and Animal Resources… Zoo, San Diego, CA (USA). University of California, San Diego, CA (USA).
  • Publication date (reprint original edition 2007 to digital version): 2015-06.

3 reviews for Life at the Zoo: Behind the Scenes with the Animal Doctors

5.0 out of 5 stars (based on 3 reviews)
Excellent100%
Very good0%
Average0%
Poor0%
Terrible0%

 

30 April 2018

This is a delightful book. From the dust jacket to the illustrations and index, it is beautifully produced. The author, standing on the left in the dust jacket photo, provides an important inside look at life in the zoo. Robinson’s career as a field biologist and zoo veterinarian at the world famous Zoological Society of San Diego provide him great insights into the minds of beasts and bureaucracies. Much of this book is will be great interest to historians of animal collections and veterinary medicine for exotics. However, any dedicated zoo patron will find this account rich and the book will reach a very broad audience among students of animal behavior, aspiring veterinarians, animal lovers and zoo keepers. The anecdotes are lively and poignant, and will resonant with those who have worked behind the scenes in similar facilities. I especially liked the tale of the infamous Ken Allen, an orangutan Houdini!

Avatar for Richard Nisbett
Richard Nisbett
30 April 2018

The author is very clear in his introduction to his book by saying that it is not a “how-to” book. It is instead a very insightful and anecdotal account of what it’s like to be a veterinarian/zookeeper/curator in a zoo. His stories about his own experiences and historical accounts of advancements in the industry do well to remind us how far we have come and how far we have yet to go in caring for our animal charges. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the zoo industry and wants a better understanding of what it’s like behind the scenes.

Avatar for discofan
discofan
30 April 2018

This was an easy to read, very well described, first-hand account of the complexity of working in a first class zoo.

Avatar for Mary R. Tanner
Mary R. Tanner