How Animals Teach Conservation
By Anne Bolte – Education Specialist / Curriculum
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I tell this story to illustrate how connected I have been to animals. They have been a driving force in my life and career and I couldn’t imagine my life without them. At some point I must have experienced what one researcher in the new discipline of conservation psychology calls the magic. Magic in this sense is not the hocus pocus kind, but the sense of wonder that comes with experiencing animals in our lives. Ask any zookeeper, wildlife biologist or anyone who works with animals what got them started in this business and they might relate a story of wonder from their youth. Maybe they had an encounter with a wild animal near their home or maybe they had an animal encounter at a zoo or aquarium that left an indelible impression upon their souls. Whatever the experience, it was enough to set them on a career path involving animals.

As Americans we spend millions of dollars each year on food for our pets, but we also spend millions of dollars each year on trips to observe animals in their natural habitats; for example bird watching and photography. We also spend many hours at the nearest zoological park. As a matter of fact, zoos and aquariums out draw attendance at all major league sports in this country…yes-even football. The question is ..why?

As our lives become more disconnected from the natural world, we seek to reconnect. One way we can do that is by having animals in our lives. We can begin simply by having empathy and an emotional relationship with our pets. From there, our caring and concern translates to other animals, for example the cheetahs or giraffes at the zoo or Fossil Rim. Then we seek out the magic, that awe-inspiring wonder we have whenever we experience animals in our lives. The hope is that once we have these experiences, we begin to learn about these animals; where they are from and the environments in which they live. This is how animals teach conservation.

“In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.” (Baba Dioum)