This is an intriguing indoor area as it has a few flour sacks, a cardboard box and what appears to be a mixture of sawdust-type material within a concrete WWII bunker. The absence of any kind of climbing opportunities is most perplexing of all...
Is this an air-conditioned room where the orangs can get out of the heat?
I see a door with a grate on it on the far wall...is this a room where keepers can interact with the orangs for public demonstrations like the polar bear and lion exhibits at San Diego?
Can someone please explain what function this has? It looks like a kennel in the photo.
Is this an air-conditioned room where the orangs can get out of the heat?
I see a door with a grate on it on the far wall...is this a room where keepers can interact with the orangs for public demonstrations like the polar bear and lion exhibits at San Diego?
Can someone please explain what function this has? It looks like a kennel in the photo.
It is an air-conditioned room where the orangs can get out of the heat, and it is also a demonstration area as while I was there a keeper unlocked the door and fed an orang through the wire. And yes, it does look like a kennel.
It is an air-conditioned room where the orangs can get out of the heat, and it is also a demonstration area as while I was there a keeper unlocked the door and fed an orang through the wire. And yes, it does look like a kennel.
Some prison cells are more aesthetically pleasing than this monstrosity. For the life of me I cannot figure out what Phoenix was thinking on this whole exhibit.
It is an air-conditioned room where the orangs can get out of the heat, and it is also a demonstration area as while I was there a keeper unlocked the door and fed an orang through the wire. And yes, it does look like a kennel.
You're right, the mesh is a keeper demonstration/training door. Not sure why the climbing structures are still absent in both indoor holding areas but I can assure you that they are both supposed to have some.
With what? Five ropes and a mesh net? Is there anything else in there now? It seems to me that the orangs will still spend almost all of their time on the ground indoors, and it is bizarre that the zoo did not open the indoor area with a few climbing structures in the first place. Is it possible that the zoo has responded to criticism of the exhibit? I sometimes am genuinely curious as to whether sites such as ZooChat (or even Facebook) have much of an influence on such attractions. I am not on Facebook but I know that a local indoor play area for kids that opened in my hometown city of Abbotsford altered its fees and policies due to an overwhelming amount of feedback via their Facebook page.
There is a maze of ropes and nets present in the dayrooms. This photo does not show the best angle, but they are spread throughout the space. I believe they were not present when you visited because they opened the exhibit before everything was fully complete. http://www.zoochat.com/596/orang-hutan-people-forest-260691/
Another VERY important thing to consider is that things like climbing structures and perching are done by the keepers, not the designers, and the keepers KNOW their animals. Duchess is one of the oldest orangutans in captivity and does not climb much, and Michael CHOOSES to spend time on the ground even when given climbing opportunities. If the entire space were filled to the brim with climbing structures, Kasih and Bess would do great, but it would limit Michael and Duchess's ability to navigate the space.
