Basel Zoo: evolving ape care from domination to modern standard

Chimpanzees at Basel Zoo. Keystone-SDA

At the start of Basel Zoo's 150-year history, the focus was on dominating "exotic" animals. Over time, a needs-based approach took hold, culminating in the "Basic Rights for Primates" initiative. The history of ape care at the zoo reflects significant change.

In the 1930s, images of two chimpanzees, “Max and Moritz,” sitting at a table and spooning up soup caused a sensation.

The head keeper at the time, Carl Stemmler, remarked about “his” animals: “Max learnt to eat properly with a spoon in three days. It took Moritz over a month to realise he had to hold the spoon in his hand.”

The two chimpanzees “Max and Moritz” were among the first apes to arrive at Basel Zoo. Basel Zoo, Postcard

What seems bizarre today was normal until the 1960s: “educating” apes by humanising them. Historian Jennifer Degen explains: “The apes often arrived at the zoo as young animals without a mother. The keepers believed they needed to teach them something.”

Control was also a factor: “They realised that adult monkeys could be dangerous, so the relationship always had to be hierarchical.” An anecdote illustrates this: keeper Carl Stemmler once used a slingshot to get “Max and Moritz” down from a tree, shooting them in the rear. “The monkey screamed and came down from the tree like a devil, as fast as lightning,” he recounted.

The birth of “Goma” marked a new era. In 1959, Basel Zoo achieved a global milestone: the first female gorilla born in a European zoo. “After the Second World War, the zoo shifted from an entertainment park to a scientific organisation. Its self-image changed, and the zoo was given new tasks,” says Degen. As the animals’ living conditions improved, so did breeding success.

The end of “humanisation” was signalled by the construction of modern facilities, designed to mimic the animals’ natural environment. At the time, Schweizer Filmwochenschau reported: “Basel Zoo undergoing radical change: an enterprising management team has created a large ape house that can proudly call itself the most modern and advanced in Europe.”

The then Basel Zoo Director Ernst Lang holds the baby gorilla Goma: breeding successes triggered a rethink in animal husbandry. Keystone-SDA

These developments were mirrored in many other zoos. Renowned zoologist and animal photographer Jörg Hess noted that the “Basler Zolli” was a leader in ape care, although other zoos, like Zurich Zoo, also modernised their animal husbandry in similar ways.

In one respect, however, Basel has gone further: in 2022, a cantonal initiative called for basic rights for primates. Although voters decisively rejected the proposal, ape care at the “Zolli” was at the heart of intense discussions.

Today, Basel Zoo’s curator, Adrian Baumeyer, says the apes are thriving. “Imposing a human construct of basic rights on animals wouldn’t have worked. What’s far more important is the strict animal protection law that already exists.”

The question remains whether, in a few decades, people will look back on today’s ape care with the same unease we feel about early zoo practices. Baumeyer dismisses this notion: “I don’t think it will be to the same extent. Back then, we were essentially in the dark, standing in front of a cage and first had to figure out what the monkeys were eating.”

Adapted from German with DeepL/amva