Private animal collections date back as far as 2500 BC. It seems expeditions to distant places for rich people to bring back exotic animals to show off as status symbols are as embedded in human history as colonisation, the displacement of native peoples and the plundering of natural resources. The first zoos, reminiscent of today’s modern variety, were established by wealthy individuals to reflect their high social and economic standing. They were called menageries and featured animals such as giraffes, elephants, bears and dolphins, all poached from the wild – the bigger the animal, the better.
For generations, menageries, safari parks, zoos and aquariums did nothing more than put animals on display, but in the 18th century, the emphasis shifted to science and research. The Age of Enlightenment was a period that promoted reason and logic as ideals of society and that extended to the field of zoology. Interest in the natural world was growing and studying wildlife in artificial environments supposedly provided scientists with an opportunity to improve our understanding of animal behaviour and their relationship with the world around them.