Enwe, An Endangered Drill, Back At Zoo Atlanta

ATLANTA, GA — Zoo Atlanta is welcoming a member of an endangered species of monkeys back to his birthplace.

Enwe, a 15-year-old male drill, has arrived in Atlanta from the Detroit Zoo. The move makes Zoo Atlanta the only accredited zoo in the United States to house the species, which are large monkeys related to baboons.

Zoo officials say Enwe, who was born July 21, 2002 to female Inge and the late Adonis, is exploring his new habitat in the zoo's Monkeys of Makokou complex. Right now, there's not a guarantee that visitors will see him as he gets used to his new surroundings.

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Enwe traveled to Detroit in 2008. Back in Atlanta, he will join one of two drill groups, which include his mother, Inge, females Achi, Amaka and Drew and male, Bobby.

"We are excited to see Enwe’s story has come full-circle since he was born here at Zoo Atlanta," said Hayley Murphy, a veterinarian and Zoo Atlanta's vice president of animal divisions. "His arrival also gives us an opportunity to tell another story about a species that is greatly in need of conservation action and awareness.

"The drill is a model example of a species that’s directly impacted by choices we make in our daily lives. That’s an important connection for our members and guests to be able to make."

A significant amount of drills' natural habitat has been destroyed by illegal logging and slash-and-burn agriculture, zoo officials said. Poaching for the bushmeat trade is also a problem.

Drills were considered to be on the brink of extinction in the 1980s, but conservation efforts are under way to rescue them and bolster their population in Africa. Zoo Atlanta donates a portion of every ticket sold to projects supporting endangered animal populations.

The zoo also advocates for conscientious consumerism to lessen and prevent the unsustainable exploitation of wood and other products from wild environments that support endangered animals and other species.

Visit the Zoo Atlanta website for more information on drills or to schedule a visit.

Photo courtesy Zoo Atlanta