History Main / PeopleZoo

* ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'': The Metasoft Version Tree, a powerful empire mostly inhabited by sapient robots, maintains a number of {{terraform}}ed worlds as reserves stocked with unmodified, Earth-type humans. This is generally done to create "backup" Earths, under the reasoning that if a planet of Earth-type humans was able to create interstellar civilization once it's reasonable to assume that a similar world might be able to "reboot" it should disaster happen, and because [[HumanitysWake baseline humans are something of an endangered species]] in the setting. As genetic engineering and cybernetic modifications are common, convenient and fairly easy to obtain, [[{{Transhuman}} most people are at least some degree removed from ancestral humanity and often entirely unlike it]], and ''Homo sapiens sapiens'' has faced a very real threat of extinction on a number of occasions. The baseline reserves are thus meant to protect stable populations of unmodified humanity, generally with technology strictly restricted to Neolithic to medieval levels and little to no contact with the wider galaxy.

* ''Falling Up'': Page 80 tells about a human boy who is put into a zoo exhibit. He is always on display and all of the onlookers are animals.

* Creator/MarvelComics: The Collector often captures intelligent beings to keep caged in his rambling "collection".
* In the ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse story "The Billion Dollar Safari", Scrooge [=McDuck=] tries to revitalize the trade at his zoo by posting a reward of $1 billion for a nonexistent animal (a spotted elephant with a square trunk). The public is so eager to see the "crackpot" that would post such a ridiculous sum for such a ridiculous animal that they flock to the zoo to look at Scrooge, who puts himself on display in his own cage.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In the short story ''Zoo'' by Edward D. Hoch, a spaceship carrying a traveling zoo of aliens lands on Earth as part of its regular stint. Later the aliens are returned to their own planet, where they talk of their safari to see the savage two-legged creatures of Earth. They assure their friends they were perfectly safe, as they were behind protective bars the whole time.
* In "Literature/BreedsThereAMan", Earth is implied to be a laboratory experiment by aliens, with mental controls in place to prevent us from developing interstellar travel. Then humans evolve around the mental blocks ...

* ''Literature/PlanetOfAdventure''. The underground-dwelling Pnume regard the various alien races who have invaded their planet over the centuries as just an elaborate pageantry for their entertainment. In the final novel the hero gains their interest and they kidnap him for their museum.
* ''Literature/TheTripods'': While discussing the Master's plan to {{terraform}} the Earth for their own use, a process that will KillAllHumans, Will's Master mentions that he favors preserving some of the humans and native animals in their own domed environment so the Masters can appreciate them. Later when the Masters are driven off the planet, the SoleSurvivor is kept in his own zoo like this, so previously Capped humans can see HowTheMightyHaveFallen. Although he's not mistreated, Will can't help feeling sorry for him. When a Master spacecraft arrives in orbit, nukes the domed cities they once occupied to prevent the humans gaining their technology, and then leaves abandoning their plan to conquer the Earth, the captive Master senses this and has a DeathByDespair.

** Steven, one of the First Doctor's companions, is kept in one for two years by robots called Mechanoids. The Doctor breaks him out while trying to fight off a crew of Daleks out to kill him and he stows away on the TARDIS soon after. Being kept in isolation for two years has led to him having NoSocialSkills, leading to the Doctor finding him a bit abrasive.
** In the Third Doctor story "Carnival of Monsters", two alien entertainers keep exhibits of exotic creatures from many worlds - including a yacht full of humans - in shrunken and unwitting captivity inside a Miniscope.
%%* ''Series/LostInSpace'': "A Day at the Zoo" and "The Keeper".

%%* ''VideoGame/TheLostVikings'': This is why [[BigBad Tomator]] kidnaps the titular Vikings.%%Okay, why?

* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' when Bob, Jean, and Voluptua are abducted by the cone ship, they briefly entertain the idea that they may be zoo specimens, but finally conclude that they are in fact ''pets.''

ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, a zoo created by some alien race or just a plain crazy person that puts live specimens of humans or other intelligent life on display. This is one of the more likely places you'll go if the EgomaniacHunter doesn't kill you after HuntingTheMostDangerousGame.

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'': As of the Heinlein update, Enigmatic Observer Fallen Empires will sometimes ask a younger race they think are not long left for this galaxy (read: just about everyone else) to provide a POP[[note]]a population unit of unspecified size, potentially as large as a billion people[[/note]] for their Preserve. By any account, those in the Preserve are well-treated but the rest of your Empire will be a bit irritated, and the Enigmatic Observers might be a bit disappointed if you refuse.

* ''Falling Up'': page 80 has a poem about a boy who is put into a zoo exhibit. He is always on display and all of the onlookers are animals.

* In the book ''Falling Up'', page 80 has a poem about a boy who is put into a zoo exhibit. He is always on display and all of the onlookers are animals.

* The twist ending of the ''Film/TalesFromTheHood3'' segment reveals that the racist Denton Wilbury and his bunker are actually zoo exhibits, in a future where bigotry has been eliminated and people like him are considered an EndangeredSpecies. One of the kids viewing his exhibit ends up asking if there's time to go see "the misogynist exhibit", implying he's not the only one there.

* Mentioned in the ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'' episode "JX5: The Final Ending": as Dark Vegan's fleet is on the verge of rendering Earth uninhabitable and he's thwarted Johnny's third attempt to destroy the fleet (activating the SelfDestructMechanism, which Vegan ripped out the switch for), he half-heartedly assures his daughter Jillian that since she likes Johnny, he'll make sure he and his friends are relocated to a zoo on their home planet of Vegandon.

** One of the [[CouchGag couch gags]] puts the titular family in one of these. Run by Kang and Kodos's species, of course.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has a zoo space station run by gems and full of humans simply called "[[OminousMundanity the Zoo]]". The current residents have all grown up there, so they don't know anything but [[GildedCage well-cared for captivity]]. Steven and the Gems go there to [[spoiler:[[RescueArc rescue Greg]] after he's taken by Blue Diamond]]. The Zoo was made for Pink Diamond by [[spoiler:Blue Diamond after the former's request to preserve organic life]], and its original population were humans abducted from Earth during Homeworld's attempted colonization. Thousands of years later, their descendants still live there. By ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'', [[spoiler:the humans have been given control of the ship, basically making it a ColonyShip [[WagonTrainToTheStars wandering the universe]] while the gems hang around partying]].

* In the book ''Falling Up'', page 80 has a poem about a boy who is put into a zoo Exhibit. He is always on display and all of the onlookers are animals.

* In the book ''Falling Up'', page 80 has a poem about a boy who is put into a Zoo Exhibit. He is always on display and all of the onlookers are animals.

* In the book ''Falling Up'', page 80 has a poem about a boy who is put in a Zoo Exhibit. He is always on display and all of the onlookers are animals.

* In the book ''Falling Up'', page 80 has a poem about a boy who is put in a Zoo Exhibit. He is always on display and the crowd of onlookers consist entirely of animals.

* In the book Falling Up, page 80 has a poem about a boy who is put in a Zoo Exhibit. He is always on display and the crowd of onlookers consist entirely of animals.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov: In ''Breeds There a Man?'', Earth is implied to be a laboratory experiment by aliens, with mental controls in place to prevent us from developing interstellar travel. Then humans evolve around the mental blocks ...

* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', the Collector's museum contains a large number of humanoids trapped inside glass cages, including a [[Film/TheAvengers2012 Chitauri]], a [[Film/{{Thor}} Frost Giant]] and [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld a Dark Elf]], in addition to [[BadBoss a former assistant that he thought did a disappointing job]] and Comicbook/HowardTheDuck.

* ''Literature/TheTripods''. While discussing the Master's plan to {{terraform}} the Earth for their own use, a process that will KillAllHumans, Will's Master mentions that he favors preserving some of the humans and native animals in their own domed environment so the Masters can appreciate them. Later when the Masters are driven off the planet, the SoleSurvivor is kept in his own zoo like this, so previously Capped humans can see HowTheMightyHaveFallen. Although he's not mistreated, Will can't help feeling sorry for him. When a Master spacecraft arrives in orbit, nukes the domed cities they once occupied to prevent the humans gaining their technology, and then leaves abandoning their plan to conquer the Earth, the captive Master senses this and has a DeathByDespair.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'': The Metasoft Version Tree, a powerful empire mostly inhabited by sapient robots, maintains a number of terraformed worlds as reserves stocked with unmodified, Earth-type humans. This is generally done to create "backup" Earths, under the reasoning that if a planet of Earth-type humans was able to create interstellar civilization once it's reasonable to assume that a similar world might be able to "reboot" it should disaster happen, and because baseline humans are something of an endangered species in the setting. As genetic engineering and cybernetic modifications are common, convenient and fairly easy to obtain, most people are at least some degree removed from ancestral humanity and often entirely unlike it, and ''Homo sapiens sapiens'' has faced a very real threat of extinction on a number of occasions. The baseline reserves are thus meant to protect stable populations of unmodified humanity, generally with technology strictly restricted to Neolithic to medieval levels and little to no contact with the wider galaxy.

** These reserves are the subject of some debate, as some factions feel it's cruel and unjust to arbitrarily cut off groups of people from civilization. This is especially pronounced among groups who believe that every living creature should moved towards [[{{Transhuman}} transsapience]]. The usual reply is that, for all the best intentions, baseline humanity would almost certainly go extinct within a couple centuries if the reserves were opened to unregulated contact.

[[caption-width-right:350:Pictured: the "[[CreepyChild Delightfully Charming Children]]" exhibit.]]

* In the DisneyDucksComicsUniverse story "The Billion Dollar Safari", ScroogeMcDuck tries to revitalize the trade at his zoo by posting a reward of $1 billion for a nonexistent animal (a spotted elephant with a square trunk). The public is so eager to see the "crackpot" that would post such a ridiculous sum for such a ridiculous animal that they flock to the zoo to look at Scrooge, who puts himself on display in his own cage.