Long Live the Weird

The four-eyed fish is not a particular rare species, either in the wild or in zoo and aquarium collections.  There is no need to manage a insurance population in hopes of eventually reintroducing specimens to the wild.  Instead, most aquariums that keep the species do so for one, simple reason.  It's weird.  

And that's ok.

Accredited zoos and aquariums lean so heavily into their conservation messaging that sometimes I feel like they become trapped by it.  In the eyes of some members of the public - including those who are hypercritical of zoos - if a species is not critically endangered and being bred for reintroduction, than there's no real purpose in managing a captive population.

The adaptations of the four-eyed fish aren't monstrous or bizarre - they serve to help is survive in a challenging habitat where different ecosystems converge and a fish needs to know what's going on above and below the surface if it's going to survive.  Other fish from around the globe.  have responded to similar environmental challenges in different ways - like mudskippers and lungfish.  At a very superficial level, looking at an animal like a four-eyed fish is a step above a old circus freak show, and some visitors do treat it like that - Look at the weird-looking animal, isn't it strange/gross/funny?  At a deeper level, it can encourage visitors to appreciate and understand unique adaptations, explore evolution, and maybe consider how closely-linked animals are to their environment, and how their survival depends on the preservation of those wild places.

Zoos are about more than just direct conservation, however (and conservation is about more than release programs).  They also serve as places for people to study and appreciate animals.  A major way of doing that is to hook people (fishing pun unintended) with some of the strangest and most unusual species.  Freshwater fish are among the most endangered of vertebrates, but they often are some of the most overlooked of animals in zoos - where they are at best usually an accompaniment to mammals, birds, and herps - and aquariums - where the focus is often on large marine species, especially sharks.  By using some of the most unusual examples of fish, staff can help elicit interest in other, more endangered, but perhaps more... conventional fish species.

A zoo, or aquarium, or botanical garden is a place to celebrate biodiversity.  And a big part of biodiversity is made up of the weird little species that seem to strange to believe in.