Heini Hediger (1908-1992) was a Swiss zoologist noted for work in proxemics in animal behavior and is known as the "father of zoo biology". Hediger was formerly the director of Tierpark Dählhölzli (1938-1943), Zoo Basel (1944-1953) and Zürich Zoo (1954-1973).
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Hediger described a number of standard interaction distances used in one form or another between animals. Two of these are flight distance and critical distance, used when animals of different species meet, whereas others are personal distance and social distance, observed during interactions between members of the same species.[1] Hediger's biological social distance theories were used as a basis for Edward T. Hall's 1966 anthropological social distance theories.
In the 1950s, psychologist Humphry Osmond developed the concept of socio-architecture hospital design, such as was used in the design of the Weyburn mental hospital in 1951, based partly on Hediger’s species-habitat work.
In 1942 the Swiss animal psychologist Heini Hediger made a revolutionary breakthrough. He developed the science of wild animals kept in human care and published this concept of a new, special branch of biology, called “zoo biology”. The main statement is that animals in zoos are not to be considered as “captives” but as “owners of property”, namely the territory of their enclosures. They mark and defend this territory as they do in the natural environment and if the enclosures contain these elements which are of importance to them also in their natural environment, they have neither need nor desire to leave this property, but to the contrary, stay within it, even when they would have the opportunity to escape, or return to this “safe heaven”, should the by accident have gotten out. He consequently emphasized that the quality of the enclosures (“furnishing”, structure) is equally, or even more important than quantity (space, dimensions) and substantiated this with observations in the natural habitat. Among many other things he made clear that animals in the natural habitat do not need huge spaces, when all their needs could be satisfied within close range, that, in fact, animals do not move about for pleasure but to satisfy their needs. Zoo biology therefore implies that the life of animals in their natural surroundings must be studied in order to provide them with appropriate keeping conditions in human care. In animal husbandry, the aim of this concept — guided by the maxim “changing cages into territories” — was to meet the biological and ethological requirements of the exhibited animals. Hediger's publications had an enormous positive impact on the keeping of wild animals in human care in particular also in the construction of enclosures and the planning of zoos.
In the 1950s, Heini Hediger began promoting the concept of training zoo animals to elicit biologically suitable behavior and to afford the animal exercise and mental occupation. Further, he observed that in some cases training increased the opportunity for the zoo keeper to give needed medical treatments to the animal. He also referred to zoo animal training as “disciplined play”.
Prof. Heini Hediger already in the forties defined the four main tasks for zoos, which are until today:
In the 1960s, Heini Hediger defined the seven aspects of a zoological garden considering people, money, space, methods, administration, animals and research, in that order. He reintroduced the new concept of zoo biology and dealt with such matters as food, causes of death, zoo architecture, the meaning of animal to man and man to animal, the exhibition value of animals, and the behavior of humans in zoos.
| “ | ...hunger and love can take only second place. The satisfaction of hunger and sexual appetite can be postponed; not so escape from a dangerous enemy, and all animals, even the biggest and fiercest, have enemies. As far as higher animals are concerned, escape must thus at any rate be considered as the most important behavior biologically. | ” |