Why do zoo animals have to be separated from their families?
Many times it involves expanding their gene pool or that of another zoo, or preventing any inbreeding within the enclosed environment in which they are born. If it is an endangered species, then there may be other objectives for the conservation and development of the gene pool, so they may be trying to maintain a healthy species. Also, it might not just be a matter of conservation, but sometimes babies are hand reared because the mothers instinctively reject one or more, as with the Giant Pandas. There are many different reasons, sometimes for the betterment of the species, and some to save just a single baby. But most of the time, zoos try not to spay and nueter the animals on a regular basis, so they try work around all of the different issues.
