How much do zoos pay for gorillas?

The usual price a zoo pays for a gorilla, for example, is between $100,000 and $200,000, and gorillas can't sue either. There are those who feel that a gorilla's life is intrinsically worth more than that of a human, especially that of an impoverished African poacher.



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Zoos don't buy or sell animals, they only trade. It may seem odd to run a business – even a non-profit – with a collection that you can't buy or sell. How do zoos get new animals to enhance their collections or get rid of animals they no longer need or want? No money changes hands.

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Here at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, our gorillas eat a varied diet made up of browse (fresh tree trimmings), leafy greens, vegetables and fruits that are prepared by our wonderful Nutrition Science team. Their wild cousins eat wild celery, stems, bamboo shoots, fruits and tree pulp.

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Gorillas are extremely intelligent animals and they are to a great extent aware of their situation in zoos. Often they seem depressed when living in captivity in particular in some zoos were the enclosures are not large enough for their natural needs.

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The 215 AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums in the U.S. serve more than 183 million annual visitors and support over 212,000 jobs, generating $24 billion in the total value of goods and services generated directly and indirectly as a result of annual outlays by AZA members and their visitors.

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Zoos follow a fundamental principle: You can't sell or buy the animals. It's unethical and illegal to put a price tag on an elephant's head. But money is really useful — it lets you know who wants something and how much they want it.

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The Chinese government owns nearly all the giant pandas on earth. And American zoos will shell out up to $1 million a year to rent just one. Most sign 10-year panda diplomacy contracts, and if any baby cubs are born, they pay an additional one-time $400,000 baby tax.

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Top companies for Zookeepers in United States
  • Woodland Park Zoo. 4.0 $28.36per hour. 62 reviews10 salaries reported.
  • DENVER ZOO. 3.6 $21.25per hour. 91 reviews7 salaries reported.
  • Detroit Zoological Society. 3.6 $20.66per hour. ...
  • City of Albuquerque. 3.7 $20.61per hour. ...
  • City of Norfolk, VA. 3.6 $18.80per hour. ...
  • Show more companies.


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What percentage of zoos are not-for-profit? Of the 238 AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums, 54 percent are not-for-profit.

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Zookeepers play a crucial role in modern zoos, but they are often underpaid and underappreciated.

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In the United States most zoos are supported partially or wholly out of public funds by the town, city, or state in which they are located. The National Zoological Park, in Washington, D.C., was founded by Congress in 1889–90.

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According to the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), zoo conservation donates over US$350 million a year to wildlife conservation.

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Very often, zoos acquire animals from other zoos; in most cases, these animals have been bred in the originating zoo. Since many zoos cooperate and coordinate with other zoos around the globe, this facilitates a large degree of availability for many species.

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Zoos may be great entertainment, but their big goal is to educate the public about wildlife and what we can do to protect them. Zoo animals are sort of like ambassadors for their counterparts in the wild. Zoos also contribute to scientific research.

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Efforts to conserve species have resulted in saving at least 48 mammals and birds from extinction since the early 1990s. The rates of extinction would have been three or four times higher if actions like captive breeding hadn't been taken, according to a recent study in Conservation Letters.

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If the gorilla is living in the wild, its average lifespan is around 30 to 40 years, while in captivity, gorillas can live up to 50 years.

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