Zoo television is making stars out of animals — and the people who care for them.
These days with zoo TV revealing many behind-the-scenes stories of animal caretaking, you might recognize some of the animals — and even the people. Jose "Boogie Down Bronx" Vasquez, appears on Animal Planet's "The Zoo". The Bronx Zoo is the largest urban zoo in the U.S.; 265 acres and 4,300 animals. In 2019, the show featured the transfer of enormous Gaur from San Francisco to the Bronx. The Gaur famously aimed their suspicious, steely stares at the cameras secreted about their enclosure. They can't be fooled.
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, along with the nearby privately-owned The Wilds, were part of Nat Geo Wild's Secrets of the Zoo in 2019. Viewers were able to see the rehabilitation and release of a wild Manatee. Action from The Wilds includes newborn animals and up close looks at Tapirs. The Columbus Zoo is 580 acres housing 10,000 animals.
The Wilds, built on land reclaimed from strip mining, is a 10,000-acre conservation park. Viewers saw lively keepers in trucks round up animals for tagging and testing on the vast rolling landscape.
The 102-year-old San Diego Zoo was featured on Animal Planet's The Zoo in a 10-part series in 2019. One episode featured keeper Rob Webb working with condors, a speciality of the zoo. In 1987, 27 California condors were left in the world. Since then, zoo breeding programs have increased the number in the wild to 250.
For 2020, Nat Geo is featuring the sprawling 2,600-acre Asheboro, North Carolina Zoo where more than 1,800 animals live in lush natural environments.
Most zoos, closed for the coronavirus crisis, were expected to be open by July.
