Chimpanzee Zoko, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, 1927

About this postcard

Zoko, a chimpanzee at the U.S. National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., photographed for a souvenir view of the animal. The caption records that Zoko was received from Central Africa in 1915 and weighed 135 pounds by 1927, a dozen years after arriving in the collection. Chimpanzees in American zoos of that era were almost always wild-caught and shipped from West and Central Africa, and a named ape with a stated weight and arrival date was a recognizable individual to regular visitors. The National Zoo, run by the Smithsonian on wooded ground along Rock Creek, was free to the public and one of the city's standing attractions for residents and tourists alike; photographically printed cards like this one were sold as inexpensive keepsakes of a day at the park.