Gorillas make the walking sticks themselves.
“They strip them, chew on them and the zookeepers square them off, and you can see how helpful it is, especially for one of the babies we have who is teething,” says Jessica Horn, store director at Zoo Atlanta.
Guests can watch primates chip away at these souvenirs that do good on multiple levels. All walking stick sales benefit gorilla safety and advocacy organizations.
Zoo Atlanta is involved in field conservations projects around the globe, and its four gift shops align with a mission to protect, preserve and educate.
Treading lightly
The newly remodeled Explorer Store at the main entrance is a single-use, plastic-free store environment stocked with sustainable products, including a star: Big Tim.
“As an employee and guest, I love the zoo, and its conservation initiatives along with our approach in the gift shops really make a difference.” — Jessica Horn
The sculpture celebrates the life of an 11-foot male tusker African elephant who lived in Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Ocean Sole Africa’s hand-carved centerpiece is made of recycled flip-flops.
The shop also sells souvenir elephants, giraffes and rhinos made from the same recycled flip-flop materials.
Animals first
The Explorer Store is stocked with animal welfare in mind and does not carry candy with palm oil. “It’s really bad for our animals if it were to be left behind and it is usually sourced from rainforest trees and can result in tearing down habitats,” says Horn.
All apparel price tags are cotton. Vendors like Nature Planet create stuffed animals completely from recycled plastic bottles, plus they’re baby safe with uncoated tags made from 100% recyclable material.
Zoo Atlanta continues to support six 2024 conservation commitments to protect wildlife in Cambodia, Malaysia, Madagascar, Nepal and two locations in mainland Africa.
According to Horn, those conservation projects focus on the Asian hornbill, red pandas, radiated tortoises, clouded leopards, western lowland gorillas, central chimpanzees and drill monkeys.
Horn says, “As an employee and guest, I love the zoo, and its conservation initiatives along with our approach in the gift shops really make a difference.”
