Now my own views on "Orangutan Froest". I think the indoor area is very good, spacious and with lots of climbing equipment.
Of course the weakness is its outside area which although spacious (especially for 1 or 2 Orangutans) it does suffer from a lack of planting or trees. I don't get the pond idea either. Wouldn't this have been an obvious place to put trees? I also think it would be better with mesh walls instead of that artifical rock of which Colchester has fallen in love with. They could then connect ropes from there to the other climbing equipment. Also I don't like the way its done in the form of a pit looking down on the Orangutans.
When seeing the building work I had an idea something like this was going to happen. I did like the new outdoor area to begin with but the critical comments on this forum has got me thinking. I do however feel its a lot better than its reputaion on here. I know some of you may think I'm being too soft on it but it is spacious and open IMO. A big improvement to their previous home.
Maybe the viewing is from above to see them from "tree level" like Chester's? Obviously that wouldn't happen though as the frames a bit too low lol. I think the lack of trees is probably because it's so narrow?
Colchester's brand new orang exhibit is pure junk, and even though it is ten times better than the old enclosure the sad thing to remember is that probably 30 years from now it will still be standing.
The Woodland Park Zoo has 2 orangutan enclosures, both with large trees and thick undergrowth. Great orang exhibit:
Harsh words there from Snowleopard lol.
I wouldn't call it "pure junk", and we have to remember that not every zoo has the ability to build exhibits like the one you've mentioned. I'm thinking they may add more climbing frames and that when the old guy dies?
@Ashley: you are right about the harsh words, but I feel that a brand-new great ape exhibit opening in the year 2009 should be superb and hopefully naturalistic. The enclosure is called a "forest", but it looks nothing like one. Everyone on ZooChat agrees that it is a massive disappointment, and so where does that leave Colchester? The zoo is now stuck with a crappy primate enclosure that the majority of the public will think is just fine. How sad.
Colchester's brand new orang exhibit is pure junk, and even though it is ten times better than the old enclosure the sad thing to remember is that probably 30 years from now it will still be standing.
The Woodland Park Zoo has 2 orangutan enclosures, both with large trees and thick undergrowth. Great orang exhibit:
I too wouldn't call it pure junk. I just think its a shame that this exhibit was on the drawing board of things to improve upon for a long time. Its dissapointing that with all this time this is what they've come up with.
But thanks Snowleapard for the links to Woodland's new Orangutan exhibit. That does indeed look like a first class new Orangutan enclosure.
I have already said I think this is a really bad enclosure(the outside at least) I think what has happened here is the Concept- of viewing the animals at (so-called) raised level- has just not transferred well into the Reality. So we have a pit- like enclosure with rigid climbing equipment and Colchester's unique brand of fake rockwork walls, all in order to try an present the animals at a height from above the ground. Unfortunately, calling it a 'forest' makes the shortcomings of the enclosure even more obvious.
To do this properly and effectively they would have needed a much larger area and far more complex climbing equipment, which would have cost even more than they spent on it. A large outdoor cage with masses of climbing equipment would have been a lot more effective in this instance and probably cost rather less too.
@Goretex: the two side-by-side orangutan exhibits, which in reality appear to be one large enclosure, at Woodland Park Zoo are not new and are now 15 years old. The great thing about the habitat is that when the orangs are in the trees they are almost at the level of the surrounding boardwalk, and both exhibits have many large, real trees for the apes to climb. None of the foliage is hotwired.
I assumbed it was brand new but I was wrong. But it believably could be brand new its certainly aged very well. You could belive Colchester's is 15 years old.
