ABSTRACT
Exotic animals have long been the ultimate collectibles. Exotic animals, alive and active, have been more fascinating and exciting than natural history (museum) specimens, plants, or cultural artifacts — in part, because animals are less common, more difficult to acquire, and more expensive to maintain. And then, there is the fascination, both emotional and scientific. Since ancient times the passion for possessing wild animals from distant lands has overcome the great difficulties and expense of capturing, transporting, and maintaining them. To paraphrase a proverbial saying, if there were no zoo, someone would invent one. And many have done so over the past 5,000 years, in various ways.
