As June begins, so does National Zoo and Aquarium Month! This national holiday was instituted in 1982 by former U.S President, Ronald Reagan, as a way to celebrate everything that zoos and aquariums do for their community. But what do zoos and aquariums do for us? The most obvious answer is that these places allow us a peek into faraway and exotic habitats that we wouldn’t normally get to explore. Zoos make it possible to meet waddling penguins from the South Pole, towering giraffes from the Serengeti, and prowling snow leopards from Asia, all with a dolphin show at the end! Aquariums can contain exhibits from every body of water imaginable, from the great kelp forests of the Pacific to the tropical coral clusters in the Mediterranean. And the only thing separating us from these biological wonders are a few inches of glass. It is a miraculous thing to not only glimpse these creatures, but to also learn about their natural history while paying them a visit, since these parks are chock-full of educational resources. Beyond a zoo or aquarium’s goals to inspire and educate its community on Earth’s biodiverse animal populations, their primary goal is to conserve those populations that are most endangered. Through breeding programs, research studies, and rehabilitation centers, these parks can care for individual animals in need, and even play a hand in saving entire species from extinction.

Zoos and aquariums can be incredible and magical places, but were they always as respected as they are today? The first documented zoos were recorded hundreds of years ago, spreading globally across civilizations. In Ancient Egypt, Aztec civilizations, and in China, the richest individuals would collect unique and foreign creatures to showcase their wealth. Romans would gather lions, elephants, tigers, and other large animals to fight against gladiators in the Colosseum. Needless to say, the zoos and aquariums we visit today are starkly different from these historical examples, where animals were treated as props rather than living beings. Regardless, many still question the ethics of housing animals so far away from their natural habitats. Will a lion born in captivity display the same instinctual survival traits as a lion born in the wilds of Africa? Are polar exhibits built in tropical environments safe for the cold-loving seals and penguins? Does a glass enclosure with limited space impact the health of animals that migrate or have home-ranges of several miles? These are the types of questions that are asked frequently in debates weighing the pros and cons of housing exotic animals. The best way to determine whether a zoo or aquarium is truly promoting conservation and education is to do your research before you visit. 

Some key things to consider when choosing which zoo or aquarium to visit is whether or not they have been awarded credits by a certified organization, like AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) for their standards of animal welfare. This ensures that the place you visit is full of happy and healthy animals! Most of the highest quality zoos and aquariums in the US are government funded and operate as nonprofits. This lets us know that the money given to the park is used specifically for research, conservation, education, and animal welfare. This June we have learned a little bit more about the history and debate surrounding zoos and aquariums. Hopefully, in celebration of National Zoo and Aquarium month, you too will be able to visit these wondrous places that prioritize the happiness of their furry friends just as much as the people that visit them!

Taking a line from Disney’s Finding Nemo movie, June 23rd to 29th is national “Fish are Friends, Not Food” week! The seafood industry, specifically fishing, was unregulated and poorly managed for most of the industry’s history. Although there is greater awareness now about fishing sustainably, unfortunately this awareness has come too late. Scientists estimate that more than one third of fish industries have been overfished– meaning that too many fish from one specific population have been killed and the species’ population cannot recover. The populations of large predatory fish, like sharks and swordfish have already been overfished by 90%. If we continue to fish at these rates, these species will go extinct and disappear! 

As natural fish populations have become depleted, the fishing industry has shifted towards fish farming. With fish farming, farmers raise fish in crowded underwater tanks or enclosures, similar to cattle ranches on land. Salmon and tilapia are frequently farmed. Unfortunately, fish farming has lots of environmental and health-related problems. Having fish jam-packed together increases the spread of diseases and parasites amongst the fish. As a result, fish farmers use antibiotics and pesticides to treat their fish farms, which pollutes the water with chemicals. Some foreign countries utilize chemicals in their farming that the US has banned because these chemicals are linked to cancer and other diseases. Not only is this bad for the ocean, but it is also bad for humans that eat farmed fish!

These days it's hard to know if any of the animals in the animal-derived products we buy are treated like friends. One way to almost guarantee that you’re buying animal products that won’t get you sick and are treated well is by buying locally! And while eating fish can provide you with healthy oils and protein, there are many other healthy alternatives to fish, including tofu, garbanzo beans, and mushrooms. During “Fish are Friends, Not Food” week, we encourage you to avoid eating fish and instead try some of these healthy and yummy alternatives! 

There are a lot of important events happening in the month of June, such as National Ocean Day or Juneteenth, that this event could be easily obscured. But when you hear music in the streets or see rainbow pride flags in windows, it would be hard to ignore that June is Pride month! During June we take the time to celebrate being who you are, the strides made by LGBTQ+ activists, and to lift up LGBTQ+ voices that continue to be marginalized.

Did you know that just like humans, animals that are both the same gender can engage in long-term romantic relationships too? It's important that we don’t think about these relationships the same way that we consider human homosexual/same-gender relationships: we don’t know yet if animals can have romantic feelings, and though they can feel love, we know that they don’t think about relationships like we do in terms of marriage or dating. Animals also have no stigma attached to their relationships like humans do. Nonetheless, the same-gender relationships noticed in animals have gotten a lot of media attention since being discovered, and it's important that we let these animals live out their lives in a way that feels right to them, no matter who they love!

The number of species of animals that engage in same-gender relationships has continued to be debated, ranging from 1,500 at the most to 450 in some of the lower estimates. These relationships are distinguished by behaviors like dating, mating, mating for life, and even raising offspring together! There are even some species of animals that almost only engage in same-gender relationships, like domesticated rams. Another important distinction is that of the 1,500 species estimated to have same-gender relationships, the same animal can have different-gender relationships too, meaning that we would consider them to be bisexual.

One of the most common marine animals that are seen to be engaging in homosexual relationships are penguins! It is estimated that 1-of-5 penguins are homosexual, and it’s most common for the male penguins to exhibit this behavior: they often mate for life and raise offspring together. One of the most famous couples were Silo and Roy from the New York Central Park Zoo who mated for life and raised their daughter Tango together.

Dolphins are also commonly known to have same-gender relationships. One study done on a group of dolphins off the coast of Australia found that males were often the ones engaging in same-gender relationships. The bottlenose dolphins are primarily bisexual, reproducing with the opposite gender, but being in committed, long-term relationships with other same-gender dolphins. These pairs would travel the long migratory distances with one another, protect each other from sharks, and hunt for one another. It is common for these dolphins to remain alone after their partner dies, or to find another partner in another dolphin who has been “widowed”. These relationships are called “male pair bonds” and scientists continue to debate whether these relationships form primarily out of a need for survival or if these dolphins are forming genuine connections with one another. 

Part of the reason scientists can’t decide on whether or not these relationships are born out of survival or love, or how many species engage in these same-gender relationships is because of the stigma we place on same-gender relationships among humans. Despite being natural and instinctive for these animals to love who they love, some humans have a hard time accepting that. So during pride month, make sure to celebrate all the love you see around you as natural, whether it be between dolphins or your family, friends, and community!