About 4 months ago, a polar bear cub was born at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. The little guy doesn't even have a name yet, because he is the focus of a naming contest that is accepting entries until May 12, 2007 (check their website www.brookfieldzoo.org  for more info).

The story caught my eye recently because it made me wonder if there will come a day when polar bears will exist only in zoos? If they will become museum pieces - curiosities that people go and stare at, and watch old film footage of them in the wild as a lesson of what we did to the planet and to their home.

To this blogger, zoos should be places where people can learn about the biodiversity of the planet, where scientists can study rare animals, and even figure out how to bolster their wild populations (like is happening for the Golden Frog of Panama. http://www.ranadorada.org/species-info.htm This is a pretty remarkable story, actually, and even though it doesn't relate to global warming (as far as I know anyway!), it is a good illustration of the important role that zoos can play on the planet.  

Natural History Museums across the world have dioramas showing what life looked like in the past. How people lived, what animals were around, what plants grew in the ancient forests. Could zoos become living history museums in the future?