Animals Do Better in Zoos Than You May Want to Think

It feels heretical in saying mammals will live longer in a zoo than in the wild but it seems that's the truth of the matter and, at first, it's kind of surprising.  (Science Daily:  Most mammals have a greater life expectancy in zoos)

The research team led by the University of Lyon and the University of Zurich assessed the demographic parameters of more than 50 mammalian species. The scientists discovered that longevity was higher at the zoo for more than 80% of the mammals studied -- species such as African buffalos, reindeer, zebras, beavers, or lions. "All 15 carnivore species in our dataset attained greater longevity at the zoo," states Marcus Clauss, professor of nutrition and biology of zoo and wild animals at the University of Zurich. "It seems that even for predators, life in the wild is not necessarily without its perils."

The greater longevity at the zoo was particularly prominent among smaller species having a generally shorter lifespan, for instance, tree shrews, weasles, white-tailed deer, or African wild dogs. The juveniles and adults of these species typically fall victim to predators or to intraspecific competition in the wild, thus reducing their average longevity. "With regard to long-lived species that generally have lower mortality rates in the wild, there is less that zoos can protect them from. As such, the effect is not as great and, indeed, in some cases is even reversed," says Clauss.

- Science Daily

Now it feels less heretical since they're not talking about gorillas or elephants, etc.  It's unfortunate they don't seem to be safer since thinking of the zoo as a refuge from poachers and many other things has comfort.

However, a lion qualifies as a large, well-defended animal but the report found they live longer in a zoo.  My interest immediately goes to why but the article does not pursue that line of inquiry and goes instead toward management of zoo populations in general.

Here at the Rockhouse, the article goes down as interesting and frustrating at the same time.  It's good to see some animals live longer but it would require going back to the originating article to find more detail on which ones.  The article has created some intrigue but didn't really resolve it.

This article for Ithaka would have run much longer if it were a general observation all animals live longer in zoos but it's not clear enough to pursue that when we don't have a fairly strong idea of which ones.

Various vaults exist for preservation of the world's seeds so they survive cataclysmic disaster of whatever epic movie scale you like.  There are also vaults for storing DNA and genome information and, I suppose, various other approaches exist to this effort to ensure survival of multiple species.  The Rockhouse ideal is many creatures can be, at a minimum, preserved if the zoos are just good enough, big enough, etc so they're more than amusement but we need more information to know whether they would work in such a way.