Zoo's are defnitely a win / lose element. Like you say, without them some animals would be driven to extinction, but it preserves a state of unatural being. These animals were meant to live free. So true, if we would stop wiping them out and leave their habitat alone there would be plenty to see and as nature intended... But with the world the way it is these days, I fear that may never happen.

That's why it's so good to get some photos of them, nothing lasts forever and so a still capture on film is worth so very much :-) I often think of that photographer who has the last known photo taken of the River Dolphin in China before they fell extinct... Heavy thought.