Young gorillas wrestle together playfully. Monkeys scale a 50-foot tree. Bonobos shriek and swing on vines. Around them, massive rock formations, tropical plants, and long grasses fill the landscape.
The animals are native to Africa’s forests, and this habitat reflects that. But these primates actually live in Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Florida.
Every year, nearly 1 million people visit the zoo to watch the apes and monkeys run overhead through tunnels, to film them climbing, and even to touch hands with them—through the glass.
The primates’ expansive enclosure is a far cry from the metal cages that were once standard in zoos, and that’s no accident. Zoos used to be almost entirely focused on entertaining humans. But destruction of habitats, illegal hunting, and research about how captivity affects animals’ well-being have prompted zoos to embrace conservation and transform how they treat wildlife.
Young gorillas wrestle together playfully. Monkeys scale a 50-foot tree. Bonobos shriek and swing on vines. Around them, huge rock formations, tropical plants, and long grasses fill the landscape.
The animals are native to Africa’s forests. This habitat reflects that. But these primates actually live in Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Florida.
Every year, nearly 1 million people visit the zoo. They watch the apes and monkeys run overhead through tunnels. They film them climbing. They even touch hands with them through the glass.
The primates’ large enclosure is very different from the metal cages that were once standard in zoos. That is no accident. Zoos used to be almost entirely focused on entertaining humans. But now zoos are embracing conservation and changing how they treat wildlife. They have been prompted to do so by destruction of habitats, illegal hunting, and research about how captivity affects the well-being of animals.