Heterotopija zoologijos sodas ir modernus žirafos skerdimas Nojaus arkoje
Heterotopya of the Zoo and Modern Slaughter of a Giraffe in the Noah’s Ark

Summary/Abstract: By invoking Michel Foucault’s notion of heterotopy, the article deals with the phenomenon of zoo at the late modernity, under the conditions of the end of nature. The article aims to describe the structure of the heterotopy of zoo, to trace the paradigmatic shifts of the phenomenon of zoo, to look at the case of Copenhagen zoo as the disclosure of our controversial relationship with nature. In the first part of the article, the zoo is analysed as a peculiar place (heterotopy) wherein the natural relationships are suspended, neutralised and inverted. In the second part, three different paradigms of the zoo – menagerie, representation of the system, and the Noah’s ark – are investigated. Most attention is paid to the paradigm of the Noah’s ark, for it reveals the transformed relationships with nature – “the end of nature”, nature’s change into heterotopies, and the control of nature through the colonisation of the future. Finally, the case of the slaughter of a giraffe in Copenhagen zoo is scrutinised. This case discloses the conflicts between different functions of the zoo – entertainment, scientific research, education, conservation, the control of nature and risk management – and shows the peculiarity of our relationship with nature.

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