The reasons zoos are needed

The first subject I want to discuss here is:

The reason zoos are needed
The first zoos were nothing like the zoos nowadays. In those so called menageries the animals were living in small cages without any form of enrichment. The animals were mostly kept by the rich and powerful as a way to show off. Nowadays zoos have different purposes... 

First of all zoos educate people about animals. Visiting your local zoo a perfect way to see all kinds of exotic animals from all over the world without even leaving the country. Zoos try to show the animals in exhibits that mimic their natural habitat and they try to make the animals behave as natural as possible by offering various kinds of enrichment. The zoo visitors can learn more about the animal by reading the educational signs which are present in almost every modern zoo. If said sign doesn't answer the question of the visitor there is almost always a zookeeper near to do so.

Second zoos help to save animals from extinction. This is done through various ways, like educating visitors so they know what they can do to save a species. The more direct way is breeding endangered species. Almost all zoos on the world work together in breeding programs, these programs are designed to maintain the captive population and to reintroduce a part of the animals in the wild. Thanks to the international breeding programs zoos can exchange species and individuals. Some animals would have been extinct if zoos didn't help them, for example the scimitair horned oryx and the Przewalski's horse. 

Lastly some zoos also rescue animals that were injured or sick. Various zoos rescue and sometimes even rehabilitate animals that were found sick or injured in the wild. These animals get food, shelter and health care to make sure they will recover. Sometimes these animals are able to be released in the wild, other times they stay at the zoo, where they are sometimes even able to help maintain the captive populations. Examples of rescue animals are stranded dolphins and turtles.