April 1, 1983

April 1, 1983. Monkey Island, a new exhibit for primates consisting of a 25-foot high bluff of natural stone bordered on three sides by water and landscaped with pine trees and aquatic plants and home to Barbary macaques, opens at the National Zoological Park.

This 1986 photograph of Monkey Island illustrates the current trend of zoo animal exhibitry. Monkey Island is home to several species of animals including Barbary macaque monkeys, Oriental short-clawed otters and several types of fish. Multi-species enclosures give the animals a more natural setting and allow the zoo visitor to see how different animals co-exist in the same habitat.

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives

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