The disappointment that came with waiting to see my favorite animal at the zoo only to find that it was hiding somewhere within its exhibit is a feeling I can remember vividly from my childhood. My seven-year-old self didn't question why the animal wasn't as excited to see me as I was to see it much back then, but now I wonder if the hiding was a purposeful way to protest the constant camera flashes and loud visitors. Looking into the topic, I discovered that hiding could be related to the many abnormal behaviors that zoo animals often develop and how some of today's zoos are working to solve this problem — by putting the visitors in the cages instead!

The problem with traditional zoos is that they give animals an abnormally small space to move in and abnormally low amounts of activity and interaction. These restrictions cause compulsions known as stereotypic behaviors in animals that possess natural instincts to run, hunt or travel in large numbers. The behaviors are understood to be a sort of coping mechanism for animals. Because they're unable to travel, they pace or sway and because they're unable to hunt they bite their cages or themselves. Zoo visitors often confuse stereotypic behaviors with cute or playful actions, but they're actually indicators of poor welfare that should be brought to the zoo's attention.

So what would happen if zoos put the people in cages and let the animals roam more freely? Modern zoos such as New Zealand's Orana Wildlife Park are doing exactly that. The idea is likely to reduce the need for coping mechanisms by allowing animals to run, hunt and travel for real. As a result, the amount and severity of harmful stereotypic behaviors could be reduced significantly. It would allow the animals to roam more naturally in larger multi-animal exhibits (such as the San Diego Zoo's exhibit pictured below), visitors to view more closely from armored vehicles, and zoos to take better care of the endangered and wild animals of our world.