
When a zoo needs an elephant, or finds itself with three surplus penguins, it doesn’t buy or sell the animals — it asks around. Zachary Crockett rattles the cages.
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Zachary Crockett
There are certain things that you can always expect to see in Oklahoma's landscape. Oil wells, cotton fields, red dirt, cowboys in big trucks and chicken fried steaks. But in the state's capital, you'll find some exotic creatures that are a bit out of place.
Holly Cullahan
We've got most of what you might consider the marquee animals elephants, tigers, lions, grizzly bears, you know, reptile house.
Zachary Crockett
Dwight Lawson is the Executive Director and CEO of the Oklahoma City Zoo. It's home to a thousand animals of more than 300 different species in the course of a day. You can see Indian rhinos, Komodo dragons, red pandas, western lowland gorillas, Sumatran orangutans, Andean condors, and ringtail lemurs. You'll even encounter a few endangered species.
Holly Cullahan
We have a venomous beaded lizard from Guatemala that's only in a handful of zoos across the country, as well as a couple of what are called Plowshare tortoises, probably the most endangered tortoise on the planet that only come from a small area of Madagascar. You know, lions spend about 20 hours a day sleeping, so you have to give other stuff for folks to see.
Zachary Crockett
Oklahoma City Zoo is one of a few hundred accredited zoos and aquariums across the country. They attract visitors by stocking their exhibits with exciting creatures from the far reaches of the globe. But how exactly do they get them?
Zoo Expert
It's very hard to put a fair market value on an endangered species.
Zachary Crockett
For the Freakonomics Radio Network, this is the economics of everyday things. I'm Zachary Crockett today. Zoo animals Humans have kept wild animals in captivity for thousands of years. In the Middle Ages, aristocrats showed off their wealth and power by maintaining menageries, private collections of exotic creatures. The first modern zoological gardens were established in 18th century Europe with the aim of expanding our scientific understanding of the animal kingdom. By the early 1900s, zoos were a popular attraction in American cities like New York and Philadelphia. And they competed with their wallets to get the best animals.
Zoo Expert
In the early days of zoos, almost all these animals were captured in the wild and brought back to zoo collections.
Zachary Crockett
That's Holly Cullahan. She's the deputy director of the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama.
Zoo Expert
There was very much a focus on wanting to have things that were unique and rare to build up the appeal of yore particular zoo. There was a lot more buying and selling of animals at that time.
Zachary Crockett
Explorers were paid by zoos to capture wild animals throughout Africa and Asia. And some of them made a full time living out of it. In the mid 19th century, a German by the name of Karl Hagenbeck set up a global trade that supplied animals to zoos all over Europe and America. He would charge, based on the size and difficulty of a capture. An elephant would fetch around $8,000, a hippopotamus 5000 and a giraffe 1500. In today's money, that's tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Handsome sums like this incentivized poachers and smugglers to participate in the trade too. They'd often kill full grown animals in the wild and steal their babies. Zoos relied on this wild animal trade for decades before the law caught up.
Zoo Expert
The big shift in this country really happened in 1973 with the passage of the Endangered Species act, which then put a lot of restrictions on the importation of endangered species. That really sort of pushed zoos to focus more on how to breed these animals and how to keep a supply of animals in our zoo without having to go out into the wild and capture them and bring them back.
Zachary Crockett
These days, it's rare for accredited zoos to buy or sell animals. Instead, they almost always source extra inventory from other zoos in the US that already have the animals they're looking for. And to find them, they turn to the aza, or association of Zoos and Aquariums. The AZA provides accreditation. It gives zoos a stamp of approval that signifies they meet certain standards for animal welfare and management. But the organization serves another purpose. In addition to her job at the Birmingham Zoo, Cullahan is the chair of the AZA's animal population management Committee.
Zoo Expert
Our big goal is to make sure that zoos and aquariums have the animals that they need for their collections.
Zachary Crockett
The ACA maintains a census of all the wildlife at accredited zoos across the country. Each species has a coordinator who oversees a database of the animals in their category. And if someone like Dwight Lawson over at the Oklahoma City Zoo needs a specific animal for a new exhibit, he knows who to call.
Holly Cullahan
Here's an example. So we're getting ready to build a penguin habitat that'll be opening in a couple of years. We need, you know, 12 to 20 penguins in two years time. So we go to the person that coordinates the penguin population among zoos and say, hey, here's what we're getting ready to do. They will then go out and talk to other zoos that currently house those penguins and say, hey, Oklahoma City is going to need this, so we need to start producing some chicks and kind of line it up that way so you give them a little bit of lead time, and they'll put together a flock of penguins for you. Folks like to call it a dating app for various species.
Zachary Crockett
Now, in most forms of commerce, when you give something up, you receive something in return. But zoos have a more communal system. Sometimes Lawson will request an animal from another zoo, and other times he'll give one away.
Holly Cullahan
It's really not tit for tat. You know, you'll give me penguins today and I'll give you a lion tomorrow.
Zachary Crockett
So there's no sort of calculation like an elephant is worth three zebras or something?
Holly Cullahan
No, I wish there was, because we got plenty of elephants at the moment.
Zoo Expert
We have to put the greater good ahead of what our institutional needs might be. You might have an animal that, you know, everybody loves, but he's related to the animals that you have, and in order for him to breed, he's going to have to go someplace else.
Zachary Crockett
The people who oversee each species are constantly taking stock of what's out there. The lion coordinator, for instance, has access to data on every lion housed in an accredited zoo in America, including the animals, genders, ages, and health. If a zoo needs a mate for their lion, they'll bring in a population biologist to analyze all of the possible pairings on the list and pick the best one.
Zoo Expert
We have some software that can help do those projections that say, hey, if I put these two lions together, there's a 50, 50 chance that they're going to have cubs, and then, you know, they're probably going to have two or.
Zachary Crockett
Three when it comes to pairing animals for mating. Callahan and her colleagues at the AZA also have to keep a close eye on genetics.
Zoo Expert
When we talk about value of animals, we're actually talking typically about genetic value. We are breeding for maintaining genetic diversity. So we don't look at, oh, he's the handsomest lion. He should get, you know, priority, or this is, you know, the friendliest lion, so let's breed her because we want more friendly lions. We don't look at those personality traits. We don't look at physical characteristics. We're looking at trying to maintain as much of that genetic variation from the wild population as we possibly can.
Zachary Crockett
Once a zoo identifies an animal it wants to acquire, the next step is to figure out transportation. And with something like an elephant, that's no simple task.
Zoo Expert
Typically, you build a really big, really strong crate, and you train the elephant to voluntarily go into the crate. You'd want to start that months before the actual move and get them used to spending time in that crate. Usually you have to rent a crane to lift those crates onto the back of a truck.
Zachary Crockett
Lawson says the field of zoo animal transport is very niche.
Holly Cullahan
There's probably two or three people that we call for a rhino or an elephant shipment, you know, or a giraffe or something like that. They're a fascinating bunch because, you know, they'll show up with your giraffe, and there'll be three other things on the truck. You sound and some of your staff along with the animal shipments. So you may have, you know, your animal care team or your veterinarian in a trail car following them.
Zachary Crockett
While no money changes hands for the animals themselves, the receiving zoo still has to pay for transport.
Holly Cullahan
As an example, we just received an Indian rhinoceros. In the last two weeks, it was almost $14,000 to move a rhino from New York to Oklahoma.
Zachary Crockett
Of course, there are certain animals that can't be sourced from other zoos in the US and the process for getting them is much more complicated.
Holly Cullahan
For us, one of the most problematic animals in our new habitat was meerkats, which are pretty common among zoos in the US but they haven't been breeding well, so we actually had to go to Europe to get those. And the process to get some of those animals in internationally is really cumbersome and problematic.
Zachary Crockett
How so?
Holly Cullahan
Because in the case of meerkats, they're considered a potentially injurious wildlife if they were to actually get out and get established somewhere. So they're on a federal government list that you need special permits for It Took several years to get that lined up.
Zachary Crockett
And then there are giant pandas.
Holly Cullahan
Giant pandas? Yeah. They're out in a wing of the building on their own in terms of difficulty and political maneuvering that you need to do to make those arrangements.
Zachary Crockett
And what's the deal with pandas? Why are they so hard to get?
Holly Cullahan
Because China owns them all. And so you have to negotiate directly with China to be in a position to get them.
Zachary Crockett
The lucky few American zoos that do have giant pandas, like the Smithsonian national zoo in Washington, D.C. borrow them from the Chinese government. The loan is usually good for 10 years. And when it's up, the bears go back to their native home in southwest China, along with any cubs that were born in captivity. These pandalones aren't just a diplomatic gesture. A pair of bears comes with a fee of $1 million per year, which is earmarked for conservation efforts in China. But all things considered, those are relatively small costs for a zoo. The real overhead materializes once the animals are settled into their new home.
Holly Cullahan
Getting the animal is one thing. Taking care of it is quite another.
Zachary Crockett
That's coming up.
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Zachary Crockett
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Zachary Crockett
There are many different types of zoos in America. You can find animals in petting zoos, game reserves, safari parks, and even unaccredited roadside cages. But the zoos most Americans are familiar with are the theme park like attractions that are located in major cities or suburban areas. The business models of these zoos can vary.
Holly Cullahan
There's really a spectrum, everything from institutions that are run by a city or state that are completely funded as part of a parks department or something like that, to for profit private enterprises like Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Zachary Crockett
The Oklahoma City Zoo, where Dwight Lawson serves as CEO, is governed through a municipal trust. It's funded by grants, donations, and a small cut of city sales tax revenue. And like most other zoos, it also makes money through ticket sales and concessions.
Holly Cullahan
We just wrapped up our fiscal year and we actually had the highest attendance ever. We did just north of 1.1 million guests coming to the zoo. And for a metro metro area of about 1.3 million people, that's pretty phenomenal attendance.
Zachary Crockett
All those ticket sales are necessary because, as it turns out, building housing for hundreds of exotic animals is not cheap. Take, for instance, a recent expansion at the Oklahoma City Zoo. A habitat for Galapagos tortoises ran $700,000. An enclosure for cheetahs and African wild dogs 1.9 million and a planned sea lion cove, which includes an underwater observation window, is going to set the zoo back around 30 million. Then there's the cost of ongoing care. Zoos employ dozens of keepers, dieticians and veterinarians who specialize in certain groups of animals.
Holly Cullahan
You get a blood sample from a lion, you're not going in there wrestling to the ground. You're training it to put its tail through the mesh so you can take a blood sample out of its tail while it's wide awake. And they're no easier to train than your house cats. So, you know, try that next time you take it to the vet.
Zachary Crockett
And all those animals need to be fed. Large zoos spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on fresh produce, meat, fish, and crickets. A full grown elephant might eat around 300 pounds of hay every day.
Holly Cullahan
A few years ago, the zoo community did a survey of folks, and I think the average cost per Elephant was about $85,000 a year.
Zachary Crockett
And the appetites of snakes, birds, and lizards can add up, too.
Holly Cullahan
We spend $50,000 a year on frozen rodents to feed a variety of things. You need to think through what the upkeep is going to cost you. Not everybody's going to do a big herd of elephants, whether that's because of space or because of cost. And that plays out on smaller species as well. But obviously the big ones are the ones that you think through the economics of a little bit more than, say, how many box turtles you're going to put in your reptile house.
Zachary Crockett
Despite all of these investments, zoos still face heavy criticism. Many people believe they shouldn't exist at all. And serious questions have been raised about keeping large animals in captivity. Researchers have noticed that zoo animals often exhibit compulsive behaviors like rocking back and forth, pulling out their hair, biting themselves, and eating their own feces. Some zoos feed antidepressants and antipsychotics to their animals. To address these problems, a polar bear at the Central park zoo was prescribed prozac after swimming in Figure 8 loops for days on end. Zoos have addressed these problems in part by modifying their design.
Holly Cullahan
I'd say that actually, over the last couple of decades, there's probably been less variance in zoos as everyone comes to the realization that you can't manage everything in human care. There's probably fewer species in zoos now than there were, you know, 20, 30 years ago, just by virtue of the fact that we're focusing on fewer with quality. Right, rather than just more.
Zachary Crockett
But more broadly, zoos claim that captivity provides scientific benefits. Again, here's Holly Cullahan.
Zoo Expert
We have a unique opportunity to provide sometimes information that scientists can't get in the wild because we have such close, easy access to our animals. Our elephants are trained for voluntary blood collection. Obviously, that's something that's not easy to do on a wild elephant. So it allows us to provide samples, provide physiological data, behavioral data to researchers at universities or other researchers.
Zachary Crockett
Zoos also play a significant role in conservation efforts. They often breed threatened and endangered species at their facilities and reintroduce them to the wild. AZA accredited zoos have helped save many species, including California condors, American red wolves and black footed ferrets.
Zoo Expert
Black footed ferrets are a great example. Zoos played a really critical role in bringing that species back from being extinct in the wild. There were a handful of places that bred them and released animals back.
Zachary Crockett
Accredited zoos and aquariums spend around $230 million annually on conservation projects. That's only a tiny sliver of the billions they spend on operations and new construction. But Cullahan says the real impact of the work that zoos do can't be entirely measured in dollars and cents.
Zoo Expert
A lot of people aren't going to get the opportunity to go to Africa to see animals in the wild. Zoos provide this safe, accessible place to make connections with wildlife that then down the road maybe inspires somebody to get a little more engaged in wanting to help save those animals in the wild. When people can have that up close impactful experience with an animal, it changes them. I have seen that, I've experienced it, and there's nothing quite like that.
Zachary Crockett
For the Economics of Everyday Things I'm Zachary Crockett. This episode was produced by me and Sarah Lilly and mixed by Jeremy Johnston. We had help from Julie Kanfer and Daniel Moritz Rabson.
Zoo Expert
I used to catch stuff and bring it home with me. I brought a turtle home one time and gave my whole family salmonella. So I don't endorse that sort of activity.
Zachary Crockett
The Freakonomics Radio Network the Hidden side.
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Of Everything.
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Podcast Summary: The Economics of Everyday Things – Episode 68: Zoo Animals
Released on October 28, 2024 | Host: Zachary Crockett | Produced by Freakonomics Network
In Episode 68 of The Economics of Everyday Things, journalist Zachary Crockett delves into the intricate world of zoo animals, exploring the economic, ethical, and conservation-related aspects of maintaining zoological collections. Hosted by the Freakonomics Network and featuring insights from zoo professionals like Holly Cullahan, Deputy Director of the Birmingham Zoo, and Dwight Lawson, Executive Director and CEO of the Oklahoma City Zoo, the episode provides a comprehensive look into how modern zoos operate, acquire animals, and contribute to conservation efforts.
Historical Perspective
Crockett traces the origins of zoos from ancient aristocratic menageries to modern accredited institutions. Initially established in the Middle Ages to showcase wealth and power, zoos transformed in the 18th century Europe to focus on scientific understanding of animal species. By the early 1900s, zoos had become popular attractions in American cities, competing to acquire the most exotic and rare animals.
"Humans have kept wild animals in captivity for thousands of years. In the Middle Ages, aristocrats showed off their wealth and power by maintaining menageries, private collections of exotic creatures."
– Zachary Crockett [03:29]
From Wild Capture to Cooperative Exchanges
In the past, zoos primarily sourced animals by capturing them from the wild, often through exploitative and unsustainable practices. Explorers and poachers were incentivized by significant financial rewards to supply zoos with exotic species.
"Karl Hagenbeck set up a global trade that supplied animals to zoos all over Europe and America. He would charge based on the size and difficulty of a capture."
– Zachary Crockett [03:37]
However, the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973 marked a pivotal shift, restricting the importation of endangered species and pushing zoos towards breeding programs and cooperative exchanges within accredited institutions.
"The big shift in this country really happened in 1973 with the passage of the Endangered Species Act, which then put a lot of restrictions on the importation of endangered species."
– Zoo Expert (Holly Cullahan) [04:48]
Today's accredited zoos, governed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), prioritize genetic diversity and species conservation over mere acquisition of rare animals. They collaborate through the AZA's animal population management committees to coordinate the exchange of animals internally rather than relying on wild captures.
"They’re not doing a big tit for tat. You give me penguins today and I'll give you a lion tomorrow."
– Holly Cullahan [07:17]
Breeding and Reintroduction Programs
Modern zoos play a crucial role in conservation, specializing in breeding threatened and endangered species with the goal of reintroducing them into the wild. The AZA-accredited institutions allocate substantial resources towards these efforts, contributing to the recovery of species like the California condors, American red wolves, and black-footed ferrets.
"AZA accredited zoos have helped save many species, including California condors, American red wolves, and black-footed ferrets."
– Zachary Crockett [19:13]
The Oklahoma City Zoo exemplifies this commitment, investing in expansive habitats and specialized care to support conservation objectives. The zoo's strategic planning, supported by grant funding and community donations, underscores the economic challenges and responsibilities inherent in these initiatives.
Funding and Revenue Streams
Operating a modern zoo requires substantial financial investment. Funding sources include municipal trust funds, grants, donations, ticket sales, and concessions. The Oklahoma City Zoo, for instance, utilizes a combination of city sales tax revenue and private donations to finance its operations.
"The Oklahoma City Zoo... is funded by grants, donations, and a small cut of city sales tax revenue. And like most other zoos, it also makes money through ticket sales and concessions."
– Holly Cullahan [15:25]
Cost of Animal Care and Facilities
Building and maintaining habitats for hundreds of exotic animals is cost-intensive. Recent expansions at the Oklahoma City Zoo highlight the financial magnitude, with specific habitats costing anywhere from $700,000 for a Galapagos tortoise enclosure to $30 million for a sea lion cove with an underwater observation window.
"A habitat for Galapagos tortoises ran $700,000. An enclosure for cheetahs and African wild dogs $1.9 million... a planned sea lion cove... is going to set the zoo back around $30 million."
– Zachary Crockett [16:00]
Ongoing operational costs include specialized staff salaries, daily feeding expenses, and veterinary care. For example, maintaining a single elephant can cost approximately $85,000 annually, reflecting the significant financial demands of large species.
"The average cost per Elephant was about $85,000 a year."
– Holly Cullahan [17:27]
Specialized Transport Processes
Transporting animals, especially large or endangered species, requires meticulous planning and specialized resources. Dwight Lawson notes that the field of zoo animal transport is highly niche, often involving specialized crates, trained handlers, and significant logistical coordination.
"The field of zoo animal transport is very niche."
– Zachary Crockett [09:33]
For instance, moving an Indian rhinoceros from New York to Oklahoma costs nearly $14,000, underscoring the high financial barriers to inter-zoo animal transfers.
"It was almost $14,000 to move a rhino from New York to Oklahoma."
– Holly Cullahan [10:08]
International transfers, such as acquiring meerkats from Europe or pandas from China, involve additional complexities, including federal permits and diplomatic negotiations.
"Getting the animal is one thing. Taking care of it is quite another."
– Holly Cullahan [12:16]
Behavioral Health of Captive Animals
Despite advancements in zoo design and animal care, concerns about the psychological well-being of captive animals persist. Compulsive behaviors and mental health issues have been observed, leading some zoos to administer medications to mitigate stress-related symptoms.
"Researchers have noticed that zoo animals often exhibit compulsive behaviors like rocking back and forth, pulling out their hair, biting themselves, and eating their own feces."
– Zachary Crockett [18:01]
Efforts to improve animal welfare include enhancing habitat designs to better mimic natural environments and providing enrichment activities to stimulate natural behaviors.
"There’s probably been less variance in zoos as everyone comes to the realization that you can’t manage everything in human care... focusing on fewer [species] with quality rather than just more."
– Holly Cullahan [18:44]
Educational Impact
Zoos serve as accessible venues for the public to engage with wildlife, fostering an appreciation that can translate into broader conservation support. Holly Cullahan emphasizes the transformative educational experiences provided by zoos, which can inspire visitors to participate in conservation efforts.
"Zoos provide this safe, accessible place to make connections with wildlife that then down the road maybe inspires somebody to get a little more engaged in wanting to help save those animals in the wild."
– Holly Cullahan [20:34]
Scientific Contributions
Accredited zoos contribute valuable scientific data through close monitoring and voluntary participation of animals in research activities. This data is instrumental for conservation biology, veterinary science, and behavioral studies.
"We have a unique opportunity to provide sometimes information that scientists can’t get in the wild because we have such close, easy access to our animals."
– Holly Cullahan [19:13]
Episode 68 of The Economics of Everyday Things provides a multifaceted exploration of zoos, highlighting their evolution from status symbols to centers of conservation and education. Through interviews with key zoo professionals, Zachary Crockett elucidates the complex economics behind zoo operations, the ethical imperatives of animal welfare, and the indispensable role zoos play in conserving endangered species. The episode underscores that while zoos face significant financial and ethical challenges, their contributions to science, conservation, and public education render them vital institutions in today's society.
"We have to put the greater good ahead of what our institutional needs might be."
– Holly Cullahan [07:32]
"Callahan and her colleagues at the AZA also have to keep a close eye on genetics."
– Zachary Crockett [08:04]
"A lot of people aren't going to get the opportunity to go to Africa to see animals in the wild. Zoos provide this safe, accessible place to make connections with wildlife."
– Zoo Expert (Holly Cullahan) [20:34]
This detailed summary encapsulates the key themes and discussions from Episode 68, offering listeners a thorough understanding of the economic and ethical dimensions of zoo management and conservation efforts.