Zoo

A collection of animals in a park-like setting for the education and entertainment of humans. The term ‘zoo’ is an abbreviation derived from the London Zoological Society, which, in 1828, built the first western Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park to house their collection of exotic animals. The Society was formed in 1826 as a reaction to the perceived botanical bias of the organization of natural history scientists, the Linnaean Society. The practice of zoological collections existed in Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and Rome. Today most large American cities host a zoological reserve.