What Keeps Me up at Night As a Zoo‐Based Conservation Biologist

A review of Ben A. Minteer, Jane Maienschein, and James P. Collins, editors. 2018. The Ark and Beyond: The Evolution of Zoo and Aquarium Conservation. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 2018. Hopefully, I am asleep at three in the morning. But on those nights when I am not, in addition to mentally juggling details of home life and inbox, I wrestle with the larger challenges my institution faces. The Ark and Beyond expertly highlights many of these challenges, which are the primary work of modern zoos and aquariums. They include as follows: a devastating, rapid loss of biodiversity, which needs science‐based conservation solutions. A concern for the long‐term health of the animal populations we care for in zoos and aquariums given the reality that we may not have enough space or genetic founders to successfully sustain them for 100 years or beyond. A need to continue to improve the care and well‐being of individual animals given the unique responsibility of holding them in our care. The puzzle of how to truly engage visitors to take actions that will impact humanity's capacity to coexist with wildlife. A frustration that we do not know enough—have not yet done the science—to inform all our decisions. And the financial juggling act to balance these mission‐based priorities, while also feeding and housing our animals, maintaining and improving facility infrastructure, and supporting the passionate, dedicated staff who are instrumental to success. In The Ark and Beyond, the authors give a contemporary and honest summary of the challenges currently confronting the zoo and aquarium industry. The Ark and Beyond originated with two meetings of a “thinking community” of scientists, directors, and educators from some institutions at the forefront of proactive zoo and aquarium conservation programs, academics with expertise in the historical, sociological, and ethical aspects of holding animals in captivity, and leaders from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which accredits North American institutions. These meetings inspired the book, which focuses on how institutions have evolved to play a role as conservation organizations, and how they balance the complex competing demands that make it challenging to take an even more impactful role in slowing the extinction crisis. A primary audience for the book will be the zoo and aquarium professionals engaged with these topics; it will be especially useful for students or new professionals trying to understand how our industry has evolved over the last few decades. In addition, it provides a