21 Intense Portraits Of Zoo Animals Like You've Never Seen Them Before

German photographer Wolf Ademeit says that zoo animals don't get the respect they deserve. We pay to see them, snap a few pictures, and move on.

Ademeit sought to capture "the beauty and grace of captive animals" through more than 500 animal portraits taken at local zoos from 2007 to 2011.

"I believe every animal has its own kind of beauty. I try to discover it and work it out," Ademeit told Business Insider. "If I succeed, I can show the animals as individuals … "