That is indeed a life-sized boardwalk game...although I question how many people now utilise it.
According to the book "The Zoo Book" (1994: Nyhuis, Allen) this 96-foot high building used to have around 25 animal species inside, including: colobus monkey, mandrill, gerenuk, wattled crane, spot-necked otter, Demoiselle crane, dwarf crocodile, meerkat, crested porcupine, bat-eared fox, caracal, patas monkey, serval, ball python, etc.
An excerpt from my 2010 review:
African Pavilion – There are zero animals in this area (other than the indoor holding zone for the huge Hamadryas baboon troop) and it is sort of eerie walking around a humid, dense rainforest environment where there are empty exhibits that are overgrown with plants. There used to be a variety of species here but they have all departed for other zoos and according to a docent/volunteer none of them were kept. Currently it is named “Tropical Plant Pavilion” but the zoo has signs that say they are debating about what to do with the aging structure. The docent told me that the entire African area is pure world-class (which I happen to agree with) and zoo management felt the weakest exhibits were in the African Pavilion. So out went the animals and now there is arguably not a single poor aspect to the hundred or so acres that make up the African section of the zoo.
We say renovation zoos such as the Bronx Zoo (Lion House turned Madagascar)and the Brookfield Zoo (Primate House turned The Swamp) have done a wonderful job converting old buildings into new exhibits.A new version of the original African Forest would be a wonderful addition to one of the best zoos in North America.
Animals we would like to include in a new African Forest would be
Mandrills,Pygmy Hippos,Red River Hogs,Yellow Backed Duikers,Red Capped Mangabeys,Leopards,African Civets,Palm Nut Vulture,African Fish Eagle,West African Green Mamba,Gaboon Viper.
According to it the African Pavilion will be torn down and replaced with an aquatic African animal exhibit. It seems likely that this might include hippos?
