#subtopicone

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Subtopic One: Closing Statement

The past couple of posts touched on how animals are affected by their environment in captivity. Noise, light, and oder are three aspects of an artificial environment that CAN be controlled in zoos, but they are not always. Zoos need to take animal well being more into account in terms of how animal environments are laid out and kept. 

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This picture has been edited to say “I am a stupid fish, Bang on the glass,” but it portrays an important message. In terms of sound, animals cannot escape the unnecessary noises caused by children and adults at a zoo. There are often times warnings telling people not to bang on the glass, but directions are not adhered to. This unnecessary sound causes stress to the animals and can potentially harm their well being and decrease their happiness. 

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Examples of Environment Affecting Animals

Noise: 

- “In multiple studies done, behavior from harbor seals (Suarez and Morgan, unpublished data), cotton tip tamarins (Tromborg, 1933), and orangutans (Birke, 2002) tended to be more violent when there was an increased number of people at the zoo.”

Light: 

- In zoos, lighting conditions cater specifically to humans, which can cause problems for animals in enclosures that may be exposed to constant or almost constant light  (Morgan, Tromborg, 2007). 

Odor: 

- In a study done on group-housed mice, when humans cleaned their habitats, the mice showed increased levels of aggressiveness and stress (van Loo et al., 2000).

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Subtopic One: Animal Behavior and Environment

This subtopic talks about how animals in captivity are affected by their environment. Pros and cons are touched upon. It is important to realize that there is always a downside to an upside.