BREAKING NEWS

To celebrate the Zoo’s 122nd birthday, it will be offering tickets at R22.00 per person on the 22nd of every month until February, 2027.

Mark those days on your calendar and in your diary.

 

 

This was playing in my car as I drove to visit the Johannesburg Zoo recently.

Listen to it as you read this post.

 

 

 

I know that there will be  ‘nay-sayers’ about my visit to the Johannesburg Zoo. But what I experienced there, especially in the chimp enclosure, cemented the fact that zoos are necessary institutions for many reasons.

In this post, I will focus on how I perceived this family group of chimpanzees. I am NOT a primate expert, nor am I qualified to comment on the physical/mental health of these individuals.

However, what I can comment on, is what I experienced as they interacted with each other, as well as the humans peering at them through the glass.

I do believe that, even though the area around their indoor enclosure is darker than the enclosures themselves, they can perceive when people are watching.

A brooding face was in darkness, while the eyebrows and hair are lit by the sunlight flooding through the skylight in the roof.

 

 

 

It is hard not to make ‘cute’ comments like, “This is my best side”, but I will refrain from that and ask you to look at these images and make up your own captions, if you feel they are necessary.

 

 

 

There was a lot of mutual grooming taking place between individuals.

 

 

 

A moment of quiet contemplation?

 

 

 

My only aim with these images is to highlight aspects of the chimps, like their hands.

 

 

 

No one to help with the grooming? Then groom yourself.

 

 

 

Up close.

 

 

 

This was about the only moment that this youngster sat still.

Throughout my time at the enclosure, it was making use of everything it could climb up or swing on.

 

 

 

I did wonder what the chimps made of the noisy humans that were watching them.

I was hoping at one particular point that the human parents would see how chimp parents discipline their young, but that unfortunately did not happen, and I had to wait for the families to leave before peace and quiet descended on the human side of the glass once more.

I thought that the noisy children would have been a distraction to the primates; however, I have it on good authority that the chimps seemed to miss the human “interaction” during COVID!

The noise that small humans generate almost reassured them that all is well.

 

 

 

Holding hands?

Am I placing too much attention on the fact that their interactions could be overly simplified and anthropomorphised in order to make sense of the emotions I experienced while watching them?

Possibly…

But that is not really what I set out to do.

My purpose was to show, to my non-scientific self, that this group seemed to be content.

That fact was made eminently clear by the fact that, although they were in their dayroom/sleeping quarters, they had open access to their outside enclosure. Yet they chose to stay indoors and interact with each other.

There were a couple of ‘gate guards’ who actually kept the gate between the indoor and outdoor spaces closed! And they opened it from time to time, as if playing a game with each other.

It has been several years since I visited the zoo, and there are currently several enclosures undergoing renovations. I hope to return when those are complete to report back.

The one that I am keen to see is the new gorilla enclosure that is being constructed now that Mkoko has died.

Many thanks to the staff who helped make this visit happen.

 

 

To find out what is on offer at the zoo, click on the logo above.

 

 

 

 

Travel & Things is the proud winner of these prestigious awards from the digital British lifestyle magazine Luxlife.

The awards are in the categories:

Best Travel & Experiences Blog 2024 – South Africa

Best African Game Reserves & Lodges Travel Review Site 2025.

Best African Resorts and Retreats Award 2025.

And the most recent accolade… Most engaging Travel & Lifestyle Blog 2026.

 

 

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“Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?”

Edgar Bergen