Protecting drills in their native range

Have you voted for Quarters for Conservation yet?

Each year, Zoo Atlanta chooses three conservation initiatives to support with a portion of every admission ticket automatically going directly to those organizations. This year, one of the three initiatives is Drill Ranch, a subset of the Pandrillus Foundation. This nonprofit is based in Nigeria and works to protect the drill monkey from extinction and to preserve lands in the drill’s natural habitat. Through rehabilitation, breeding, and reintroduction efforts, Drill Ranch is on the forefront of global drill conservation. Through deforestation of their natural habitat and hunting for the bushmeat trade, drills have been driven to the brink of extinction, but there a number of things we can do to help! By purchasing paper products that display the Sustainable Forestry logo, you can feel good knowing that your purchases did not contribute to deforestation in the drill’s native lands. Additionally, by voting at the Quarters for Conservation kiosk (or via text!), you can have a direct monetary impact on the proliferation of this species.

As the Quarters for Conservation Champion for this project, I urge you all to check out our kiosk located at the entrance to the Zoo, and the signage posted outside the drill habitats in The Ford African Rain Forest. These resources have lots of information on these animals as well as instructions on how to vote for this initiative. Voting is easy and free, and it allows our guests to make a direct positive impact on animal conservation. Additionally, drills are even more special to us here at Zoo Atlanta, as we are the only zoological organization in North America to house these shy, but social primates! By helping support Drill Ranch and practicing conscious consumerism, we can ensure this incredible species is around for generations to come.
Jenny Ghents
Keeper II, Primates