As far back as the historical record goes, there is evidence of people keeping wild animals in cages. During the Middle Ages in Europe, rare and exotic animals, and occasionally even foreign natives, were displayed in traveling caravans called menageries. Stationary collections of animals then developed, where the captives were kept in small dark cells, usually alone, with no privacy and nothing to do. They frequently died in a short time and were replaced with new animals captured in the wild. Private zoos on the estates of the wealthy were also popular, with animal dealers supplying birds, reptiles, and mammals from around the world. Often as many as a dozen animals would be killed in captivity or in transport for every one that survived to be sold.

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In the late 1800s, a German animal dealer, Carl Hagenbeck, first envisioned the modern zoo. His dream...