Evidence suggests that wild animals can be as happy in captivity as they are in nature, assuming they are treated well. For example, a lion that is used to run, roar and live freely in the wild, will definitely not be happy in a zoo. But smaller or weaker animals who would very likely be easy prey in the wild are safer in the zoo and also happier. Zoo animals with proper care and enrichment have similar hormone profiles, live longer, eat better, and are healthier. University of Zurich researchers found that 80% of the mammals studied lived longer in a zoological setting than their wild counterparts.
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