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The first zoos were private menageries of local animals or those captured abroad and brought home as prized gifts for kings and other rulers. The first zoo available to the public was created in 1752 in Vienna. Now called the Tiergarten Schönbrunn, it was originally a privately-owned menagerie until the Habsburg Emperors decided to allow access to the public. The Paris zoo was opened to the public after the conclusion of the French revolution in 1799. While the original purpose of zoos was simply to display animals for the wonderment of humans, today the mission of zoos has shifted to focus more on scientific and educational study, as well as animal breeding and even maintaining populations of endangered animals.
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