In the summer of 2006, newly enrolled in the high school at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, I embarked on the biggest task I had ever done: completing a masters-level thesis. Mandrillus leucophaeus, commonly known as the drill, is an endangered monkey that lives in an extremely small range in northern-western Africa. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is one of only four zoos in the United States that house these animals. They were cited as the monkey most in need of conservation.