Red Apes of the Rainforest

This multi-level tropical habitat allows visitors to walk among orangutans and be immersed in a Southeast Asian rainforest of 20-foot-tall bamboo, fruit, and ficus trees. The main viewing area is a large platform that allows Zoo guests to view these arboreal apes as they climb to canopy level. The layout of the exhibit puts visitors in the center of the exhibit and enables the orangutans to move in a complete circle around the public. The interior spaces and the outdoor exhibit habitats are designed to accommodate flexible options of moving animals into different exhibit spaces or holding areas. If animals need to be separated or if maintenance is being performed, the animal exhibit area can be divided into two separate spaces.
The exhibit is nestled in a low, bowl-shaped area that had previously been the site of the rhino exhibit. Visitors pass through one of two themed entrances that feature a mesh transfer chute overhead, a precursor to the elaborate, mesh chute systems developed by CLR Design for the Philadelphia Zoo and copied prominently elsewhere.

Guests can view groups of orangutans from elevated viewing decks or inside an interpretive viewing building, catching site of the primates moving up high from tree to tree or at eye level enjoying a meal in a shaded area. They are surrounded by lush vegetation in the center viewing deck, while a cascading stream weaves in and out of the animal areas, soothing visitors and providing the orangutans with and area to drink and cool off.