The zoological garden started sometime in 1956 but opened to the public in 1957. The zoological garden came up because of the Nok finds by the then Surveyor General which were brought to the area for safe keeping and additional research analysis. In the process of those findings, animals were brought to the market on market days and the then surveyor general though it will be wise to set up a zoo . Then they started collecting the animals from the villagers and that was how the zoo was set up.From the outside, the zoological garden is surrounded by trees from all angles, exists side by side with the Museum of Traditional Nigerian Architecture (MOTNA) and the Jos Monuments Gallery where historical artefacts are preserved. A little ahead of the animal garden are some of the antiquated vehicles and engines that were either presented to the government of Nigeria or constructed in Nigeria, such as the Locomotive Engine also called Dan Zaria in Hausa which was built in 1921 for the Nigeria Railway, and an antiquated ford car presented to the government of Nigeria by Ford Motor Company, Canada on the occasion of Nigeria’s Independence in 1960.
Still enclosed within the same surroundings of the zoological garden is the ‘100 Steps to Afizere Settlement,’ a stone carved staircase that leads to the top of a hill and is historically said to be the ancestral home of the Afizere tribe when they migrated to what is Plateau State today, from Chawai in southern Kaduna. Joggers are known to frequent the steps in the early hours of the morning or at evenings ,and tourists who wish to have a glimpse of the Jos city centre from the top of the hill also take advantage of the hundred steps.
Studies show that the Jos zoological garden had in 1999 housed 62 mammals of 25 species, 60 birds of 18 species and 39 reptiles of 9 species. But this number has improved according to Mr. Dibal. Though our correspondent had in one of the visits counted about 78 animals on display including birds, chimpanzees, baboons, lions, hyenas, monkeys, crocodiles, tortoise, geese, stork, horses, camel, snake, rabbits, owl, pigeons and varied species of eagles, the animals are about 130 including those in seclusion.
Chimpanzees are crowd pullers
In 2012, Bobby and Paulina, two famous female chimpanzees celebrated their 50th birthday in a ceremony then described as the first of its kind in Africa. The two chimps had shared a cage in the Jos zoo for years and lived peacefully since the death of their husband Peter, a few years back.The Jos Wildlife Park features rare and exotic collection of wild animals, reptiles, and birds; it was established in 1972 and extends into the pine forest and the Vongnifwel Hill. There are picnic centres within the park and a history museum that tells the story of the park and state.
Paulina and Peter were pioneer animals of the zoo and her 50th birthday with Bobby was to mark her years in captivity. Now Bobby sits alone in a cage she once shared with Paulina as Paulina had taken ill after the birthday and died. She has now been embalmed and sits in the natural history gallery waiting for the day she will be exhibited.
Beside Bobby’s cage now are two noisy male chimpanzees who were either not familiar with the intrigues that made Bobby and Paulina famous or are just indifferent. A few meters opposite the male chimpanzees is another social and energetic female chimp. Many tourists visit the Jos zoological garden to see the four chimpanzees. They are the most friendly, curious and intelligent animals. They exhibit a striking human characteristic and seem to understand certain instructions especially when a tourist is holding a treat.
Caroline Ango is a fan of the chimpanzees. The 28 year old banker said she had been visiting the zoo since her days as a student of the University of Jos. “I always buy groundnut or bananas whenever I am visiting, because the first time I came to the zoo I felt bad because I didn’t come along with anything. The two chimpanzees entertained us with their dance and then stretched their arms out for a treat, and I felt bad because I didn’t have any. Now I buy biscuits, bananas or groundnuts whenever I come in and I go straight for the chimps,” she said.She expressed sadness that Bobby looked lonely in her cage without Paulina, adding that “she looks lonely in there. She had a companion but I learnt that she died. I would have preferred that she had another companion in that cage especially the other friendlier and energetic chimp close to the pigeons. I think they will get along very well, while Bobby looks aged, the other chimp is young and energetic and both of them love to dance.”
A fascinating experience with Bobby was when she saw another visitor sipping a bottle of soft drink and she picked an empty bottle of Swan water from her cage and approached the visitor, stretched her arm through the cage apparently asking for some. The visitor threw the soft drink bottle with its remaining content at her and she picked it like a pro, opened it and began to sip from the bottle. The male chimps beside her immediately got agitated and started to hoot uncontrollably. They grunted and drummed at their chest, pacing round their cage to register their displeasure that the visitor had given Bobby a treat and left them out. They were eventually consoled with some groundnuts.
Close to the pigeons is the fourth chimpanzee, a social female chimp who loves to entertain tourists. As visitors threw boiled groundnut at her, she quickly threw it into her mouth and stretched her arm, begging for more. Two young girls shout at her, “dance, dance” and quickly she jumped off the rock she had been seating on, finds a space and does some acrobatic display to the amusement of her audiences. She quickly returns and stretches her hand for a treat. She is offered groundnuts but the girls insist she dances again. She rushes into a hut and just when it looked like she has had enough for the day, she comes out apparently to change her dance steps and tumbles over, then leaps at her swing and shows off some dance steps.
Emergency Number: 112 
