The London Zoo was probably the first zoo opened to the public, in 1847, the same time Brigham Young arrived in our valley.
At that time, a zoo made sense. People could barely imagine many wild animals. Photography was in its infancy and highly primitive. It was also highly cumbersome. To spur interest in zoology and animal preservation, it was logical to give people, including wealthy and influential people, in far off big cities a chance to see these animals up close.
But things have, well, changed quite a bit in the last 170 years. What’s changed dramatically is video photography.