The Lion's Roar: Colonial Legacies and Their Harm to Wildlife
On Friday, January 31st, Fayyom Zoo in Egypt witnessed a sudden attack where a lion attacked its guard while food was being served. To stop the lion, other zoo keepers had to shoot the lion to death. Unfortunately, the guard lost his life to the attack. For many people, it sounded extremely bizarre that a zoo animal who is supposedly friendly to humans would attack one of them, yet for one to consider the nature of a lion, then their natural role as predators is to be considered.
In nature, lions would be scared of humans, so lion attacks occur less frequently than it is thought. In 2023, a survey encompassing data from 1950 to 2019 reveals that lions are in the top ten animals that cause the most attacks at number seven with 282 attacks. The Egyptian zoo lion's attack symbolizes a greater attack from wild animals in captivity. It is extremely dangerous to take powerful, unpredictable creatures out of their natural environment and confine them unnaturally. This indicates the ethical dilemma between taking priority over the life of human beings for their entertainment or profit and the welfare and natural habits of animals that raise questions over animal welfare and the safety of both the creature and the visitor in such areas. To consider the ethical dilemma, protecting both animals and humans in the zoo has to become a matter of concern, not by setting more barriers and stronger smart systems between animals and humans, but also by reconsidering the zoo as a construct.
Zoos as Colonialist Constructs:
Zoos have their roots in history as they have been a reinforcement of cultural and racial hierarchy since they started from the beginning of 18th century. Today, zoos remain as a reinforcement of the same hierarchy in addition to speciesism. In this sense, zoos can be described as a colonial construct. In the 18th century, European colonizers kidnapped both human and non-human animals, taking them away from their families and native lands to captivity in a foreign land; this was merely an act of dominance over the indigenous people. Moreover, exotic animals were then used as a tool to show European dominance against nature itself. Most zoos displayed animals from Africa, Asia, and the Americas along with displays of indigenous people in "human zoos," which only served to dehumanize those individuals further and emphasize the idea of European superiority. As the European exploitation of the new colonized lands continued to fantasize Europeans with the new lands, the process of collecting animals was violent as it mainly treated animals as non-living objects; sometimes they were actually treated as trophies brought by European heroes. In other words, animals were kidnapped, caged, starved, and shoved to be shipped to Europe. It was all meant to fuel the public in Europe in order to support the “exploration” of new lands and expanding the European empire, which ended up as a matter of studying biodiversity later, but it still has the colonial legacy up till yet.
While today the zoo has changed to become a center of conservation and education, its origins point to an uncomfortable relationship between human dominance, colonial practices, and the treatment of non-human animals. This history continues to shape contemporary debates about the ethics of captivity, animal rights, and the role of zoos in modern society.
As Egypt acquired its independence in 1952, the colonial mindset is seen to be still showing its dominance toward other places in Africa. Exotic animals are still captured and transported to the zoos violently in priority of spectacle entertainment. It may shed light on the post-colonial dynamics of post-colonial countries like Egypt where the colonizers tended to show their dominance over the far lands, where in the same sense a post-colonial country may be extending this dominance over far lands in Africa practicing the same dominance and power against nature. Again, this practice is also meant to fuel the public in Egypt with the sense of nationalism.
This is a colonial legacy that persists in how animals are still viewed as exhibits rather than as beings with inherent rights or needs. The cages and enclosures in most zoos, especially in developing countries, tend to be small, poorly maintained, and far from ideal for animal welfare. This, in particular, is an area where the "taming" or exhibiting animals for human amusement, rather than emphasizing their natural behaviors, ecosystems, or psychological well-being continues to express an antiquated and exploitative worldview that degrades both the animals and the communities among them. Fortunately, the public awareness of animal rights and welfare is growing, which has brought high criticism to the zoos and all forms of animal captivity, yet the post-colonial heritage is still lingering to indicate an uncomfortable relationship with humans and captive animals.
Impact on Wildlife and Nature:
In nature, animals like lions live in large territories where they roam freely every day covering tens of miles. This allows them to feed on varied food by hunting, building their own social connections in the territories as well as maintaining a sound physical health. Lions are apex predators, and their behavior is shaped by their roles in the ecosystem, where they control prey populations and contribute to ecological balance.
In confined spaces such as zoos, lions do not get any of their needs, which results in a weak physical health and not growing enough social bonds. Lions in captivity relying on the zoo’s meals without hunting leads to lack of proper nutrition, exercise, and social engagement, all of which are vital to a lion's overall well-being. All of that leads lions to stress, aggression and depression as well as abnormal behaviors such as pacing or excessive grooming. Additionally, captivity reduces biodiversity by encouraging the breeding of animals in artificial environments, often leading to inbreeding, genetic defects, and weakened species resilience. While zoos claim to focus on conservation, they often fail to imitate the complex ecosystems needed for species to nourish. Wild animals like lions, for example, play vital roles in their natural habitats, which cannot be substituted by captivity. The significant consequence is a loss of both animal autonomy and ecological balance, which declines long-term conservation efforts.
Moving beyond zoos:
To move forward to a future where animals are free in their natural habitat, education and all opinion shaping tools such as the media have to address post-colonialism, environmental justice and animal rights. New generations need to be educated about decolonization and equality of all species. In this sense, we elder generations have to pass our knowledge and experiences with animal rescuing, adopting plant-based diet and even wildlife conservation. All of the mentioned strategies can result in a mindset shift influenced by compassion.
For now, efforts can start with alternatives to zoos such as animal shelters and sanctuaries where individuals can learn more about the truth behind cages. Advocating for the voiceless animals, their autonomy and their natural habitats can be a powerful tool toward conservation, so as to prioritize ethical treatment of animals and ecological balance. And as a final word, traditional zoos are extremely destructive to our eco-system that we and animals are all part of, therefore, efforts need to be exerted for a new nature-based world that is generous to everyone.
References:
https://www.greenmatters.com/travel/do-lions-attack-humans#:~:text=Lions%20do%20attack%20humans%2C%20but,number%20seven%20with%20282%20attacks.
https://theconversation.com/is-it-time-to-break-with-colonial-legacy-of-zoos-60485#:~:text=The%20colonial%20history%20of%20zoos,collected%20specimen%20of%20knowledgeable%20societies