I was told by a keeper that they purposely left nothing close to the Tropic World building in hopes they will one day create some outdoor space for some of the primates. We shall see what happens.
That would be great to see. I can't imagine them putting any of the apes here, but this would make a very nice outdoor exhibit for some of the South American primates, and actually add a real animal exhibit to this area.
The African section of Tropic World opened in 1982 and here we are 37 years later and still wondering about an outdoor section for primates...yikes! Having gorillas and orangutans, not to mention the various monkey species, inside for their entire lives is nothing short of scandalous.
To be fair, the small primates have it much better than their larger counterparts. The squirrel monkeys and spider monkeys may be kept indoors (though hopefully for not much longer) but where else can these species climb over 100 feet in the air and have as much space as u do? An outdoor exhibit would be great of course, but their conditions are much more suitable than what’s the apes have.
