African Primate Protection

All of Africa’s great apes are endangered or critically endangered. Habitat destruction has drastically affected primate populations throughout Africa and the hunting of primates has made much of their remaining habitat unsafe. If these activities are not changed, we may lose our closest relatives – chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas – forever.

Located in Uganda and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) is the largest association of wildlife centers in Africa. PASA builds the capacity of its 22 member organizations in 13 African nations through workshops and trainings on diverse topics including conservation, education, and community development. PASA addresses conservation issues on an international scale while its member wildlife centers have invaluable local knowledge. This combination uniquely positions PASA to address primate conservation issues throughout Africa. PASA’s members manage conservation and education programs and almost three quarters of them conduct anti-poaching patrols. Most are also involved in community education and nearly half conduct community development projects and contribute to the classification of natural areas as protected.

The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium will continue to work to protect these majestic creatures for years to come.

CELL PHONE RECYCLING at the Zoo

To aid in conservation efforts, the Pittsburgh Zoo is partnering with the Gorilla SAFE program, which gathers donations of used cell phones and small electronics to recycle through ECO-CELL. Recycling old phones and other small electronics (with or without their associated cords and cables) like tablets, smart watches, digital cameras, and handheld gaming devices directly raises money through the Gorilla SAFE program for initiatives that help to protect and study gorillas all around the world.

The drop-off box here at the Zoo is located at the bottom of the escalators near the front gate. Learn more about how this program helps gorillas here.