The Zoo Review: Zoo Review: Zoo Atlanta, Part I

Early January is often a time of year for celebrating new beginnings. In the zoo community, there is no better story of a new beginning than its most famous Cinderella-story, Zoo Atlanta.

The oldest zoo in the American South, the Atlanta Zoo (as it was then known) in Grant Park was founded with the animals from a bankrupt circus, which were then donated to the city. Like many zoos, it enjoyed periods of success alternating with periods of decline, until it became infamous for its antiquated, inadequate facilities in the 1980’s. The Humane Society rated it as one of America’s worst, and it was cited as a civic embarrassment. Fortunately for the zoo, the community decided to rally around the embattled institution, and under new leadership its rebirth was begun. Today, the rebranded Zoo Atlanta is one of the most respected zoos in America, famed for its commitment to great apes and its wellness-based animal care.

Improving a zoo isn’t a one-and-done project; it requires constant commitment to keeping facilities upgraded and making better habitats for the animals. Evidence of that can on the zoo’s African Plains. Originally opened in 1989, the exhibit underwent a recent renovation, with the newly improved, expanded elephant habitat opening in 2019. The yard houses a small herd of African elephants, who can wander among boulders, splash in pools, snack from puzzle feeders, or bathe in the red Georgia soil which gives them a somewhat distinctive color. The adjacent elephant barn provides visitors with a behind-the-scenes look at how zookeepers and vets care for the world’s largest land mammals, complimented by interactive devices and video displays. I really admired the educational component of African Plains, which put visitors in the position of animal caretakers or researchers, while encouraging them to consider the adaptations of the animals and how they help those species survive in the wild.

Outside of the elephant barn, a new habitat for meerkats was under construction during my recent visit (but should be open by now). The former elephant habitat, located nearby, was being refitted for white rhinoceroses (which should also be ready by now) and, like the new elephant habitat, features a barn that provides for viewing of the animals when they are indoors, as well as insights on their care. Up the trail from the elephants, giraffes, zebras, and ostriches occupy a grassy yard, which also features a giraffe feeding station. Nearby, a pride of lions sprawls across the rocks on the kopje which dominants their exhibit. Kori bustards and warthogs round out the African Plains experience.

No animal better exemplified the story of Zoo Atlanta’s transformation than its famous silverback gorilla, Willie B. Willie B may have since passed away, but his legacy can be seen in the Ford African Rainforest. Over twenty gorillas have been born here since its debut in 1988, some of them fathered by Willie B himself. The gorillas can be viewed from several vantage points, including from across moats and through the windows of a viewing bunker. What appears to be one sprawling habitat, resembling a forest clearing, is actually several, which allows of different troops to be maintained. Sometimes, males can be seen displaying to one another from across a hidden barrier, which allows each male to feel like he is successfully defending his troop and maintaining his territory. The habitats are spacious and well-planted, with several climbing structures of wood and rockwork scattered around to promote natural behavior. For many visitors, the most popular feature is the bronze statue of Willie B, which is popular with photo ops.

I rated this as one of the best gorilla habitats I’ve ever seen; I just wish that there had been some way to preserve (or recreate) Willie B’s original tile-and-glass cage, perhaps complete with another life-size statue and a flickering TV set for company, that visitors could enter. Then, they could truly understand how far Zoo Atlanta, and zoos in general, have come in their approach to animal care.

Completing the Ford African Rainforest is the Living Treehouse, a walk-through aviary that features birds from rainforests across the world. Pied-imperial pigeons, hamerkops, scarlet ibises, and superb starlings are among the species flying about. Visitors view the birds from an elevated boardwalk; along the other side of the boardwalk is a mesh-enclosed habitat for ring-tailed, black-and-white ruffed, and crowned lemurs. These were some of the best lemur exhibits I’d ever seen, though I will say that the mesh made viewing a little difficult at some points. Exiting through the tree house, visitors find themselves in the Monkeys of Makokou, where they can observe four species of African monkeys. Among these are drills, black-faced relatives of the mandrills more commonly seen in zoos. As of now, Zoo Atlanta is the only zoo in the United States to house these primates, though I had seen them before at other facilities that no longer have them. The other monkeys featured are Schmidt’s red-tailed monkeys, Wolf’s guenons, and an endearing family of Angolan colobus monkeys, which had recently welcomed a baby at the time of my last visit.