I was taking a walk one day, and I thought, "Hey, maybe I'll take a trip to the zoo." But then I began to wonder - just what will I do at the zoo?

I will visit with the elephants and I'll hear them blow their horns
I'll listen to the howls and the jaguar growls and the lions give a roar
I will swing with the orangutan as the monkeys screech out loud
The ducks all quack, the oxen smack, the seals bark and give a clap,
and the giraffes, well they just chow

At the zoo, zoo, what will I do?
What will I do when I visit at the zoo?
At the zoo, zoo, what will I do?
All the animals are talking to you

Some animals are funny, and I laugh with great delight
Some of them amaze me, others make me cringe with fright
With some I want to play, others sleep until it's night
But they are all my friends and I give them my respect
because I want to treat them right, that's right!

Now I've heard there's something going on with these guys back at their homes where they really live in the wilderness. So I asked, and I was told that this is what's going on

Some are overhunted for their furs and horns and sport and fat and meat
Some have lost their homes when we clear the land to build our toys and cities, farms, and streets
Some of them are poisoned by the chemicals we use
Some of them are captured to be loved or be abused as somebody's pet
Do we need wild animals at home in the wilderness? You Bet!

A parrot from the rainforest had a talk with me one night
In a dream he said, "Let us live and grow please.
Don't take everything in sight."

I will listen to the animals for they have something to say
They share about their homes and their special way of life
that may seem so far away
They left a wilderness of beauty to be protected behind bars
If we keep on destroying the life upon this planet
will we have to move to Mars?