Houston Zoo $50 Million African Forest Exhibit

Alright, saw it today.

Chimps = EXCELLENT! Didn't think it could but it does narrowly surpass Dallas' Chimp enclosure. The yard is huge, there are lots of climbing and exploring opportunities for the animals, educational activities for the kids are everywhere. There's a training station, where one chimp can come into a glass box with a keeper (separated by a chain gated) and a termite bound right on the glass wall where guest can see inside and the tubes filled with mustard, rice krispies, and other treats in tubes. I really can't understate how large this yard is and how active and excited the animals were to interact with it and the visitors on the glass panel.

Rhinos and Kudu - It's a yard, decent size. Nothing really special. Signage looks like there are going to be Thompson's Gazelle thrown in with them later, but they're having trouble figuring out how to keep them from jumping out. THe Kudu came from Whiteoak.

Giraffes and Ostrich - Same size giraffe yard, but with some hills and trees for them to walk on. Looks much nicer. The barn is the real improvement, this thing is a mansion for giraffes and is much easier for keepers to manage the animals with a catwalk along the top. Ostrich have arrived but are being kept in the barn, in quarantine for a few more weeks.

Rock work - So, that's where the money went. Rocks, everywhere creating walls and structures. Very natural looking with roots popping out and such. Quite impressive to see.

Food and shopping - Food was . . . eh. Kinda dark inside. I skipped the gift shop.

Cheetahs - Disappointing, looked like a downgrade regarding presentation. The barn is supposed to be nicer for the cats. Visibility is low and you can see past the chain link fence behind their exhibit to the back works of the zoo. It's also placed somewhere not many people are going to go. I'd be thinking "redo" on this.

FUTURE - So, all the money, turns out the Asian Elephant Phase 2 expansion was included in the African Forest fund because it involved the old giraffe and cheetah exhibits. The new yard for the elephants opens May 2011, minor demolition has already started. Phase 2 and 3 of African Forest will be an additional 6.5 acres (current is 6.5 acres). Gorillas, Hippos, and Nile Crocs are definitely coming. Talking to a keeper, other additions may include a new home for the Okapi and reptile/invertebrate exhibits. I'd like to hear plans once mentioned in "America's Best Zoos" about moving in the Leopards and a new walkthrough aviary. If they can do gorillas as well as they did the chimps, this is going to be a great complex as a whole.

Oh yeah, the director is the former head of Disney's Animal Kingdom, there is a story of a mysterious man-ape as you walk around, it's a fun story for the kids, but it's really something very "Disney" in the thinking. There's also a real effort to push African culture and heritage. As a former Houstonian, I feel I can say, Houston has a large African American population (especially the SW corner where the zoo borders on, Hispanics are more on the east side), and the schools really are bad. This may be the only real opportunity some of these kids have to learn about their heritage. From a history and educational opportunity, pushing the history of Africa, is a major plus in this exhibit and the zoo should be applauded for it.
 
I have to say, that looks really impressive. Even if it is just two species, I like a lot of the design elements.
 
I'm a little disappointed

mstickmanp said:
I don't know if this has been posted before, but here is more info on the new Gorilla exhibit. A larger site plan and videos also available.

Gorillas of the African Forest – HOUSTON ZOO – NATURALLY WILD
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Phase 2 is gorillas and red river hogs and that's it. I was hoping for a third animal to be involved such as bongos moved over opposite the gorillas. The exhibit looks very large, but I'm not sure what it will be bringing that is original and fresh. I'm also concerned about noise for the animals' sanity as the rear of the exhibit is along the zoos border and a bust road to the medical center. The video walk through also has me concerned for visitor safety as the view ports seem very low and involve no barriers.

2 years to opening, things can change.
 
Trowaman said:
Phase 2 is gorillas and red river hogs and that's it. I was hoping for a third animal to be involved such as bongos moved over opposite the gorillas. The exhibit looks very large, but I'm not sure what it will be bringing that is original and fresh. I'm also concerned about noise for the animals' sanity as the rear of the exhibit is along the zoos border and a bust road to the medical center. The video walk through also has me concerned for visitor safety as the view ports seem very low and involve no barriers.

2 years to opening, things can change.
Click to expand...

Earlier versions of this project included a bongo exhibit behind the gorilla habitat, viewed directly before getting to the gorilla area and again as a layered backdrop from the first gorilla viewing area (bongos are briefly visible in the video walk thru)--deferred for now due to cost.

The inclusion of red river hogs with gorillas and the treetops boardwalk concepts are unique and could be great if executed well.

The location on the urban perimeter is very similar to the Congo Gorilla Forest in the Bronx, where the gorillas don't seem to be affected at all by the street noise coming from the very busy intersection directly behind their exhibits.

Of course there will be safe barriers at all the viewing areas--it's no fun to show all the legally-required hardware in an artistic rendering of an exhibit.

With the huge oaks being moved into place, the great climate for growing semi-tropical plants, and what seems to be very thoughtful sightline design and visitor experience choreography, this has the potential to be one of the two or three best gorilla exhibits in the US.
 
It sounds like you work at the zoo. If so, is African Forest still a 3 phase exhibit or has it expanded beyond the part 3 that supposably involves hippos and crocs?

Thank you for your remarks, I appreciate them!
 
Trowaman said:
It sounds like you work at the zoo. If so, is African Forest still a 3 phase exhibit or has it expanded beyond the part 3 that supposably involves hippos and crocs?

Thank you for your remarks, I appreciate them!
Click to expand...

I think they are just trying to raise all of the $28 million needed to build this piece.
 
In a recent conversation we had with Dr Kristen Lucas head of the Gorilla SSP she informed us that the plans in Houston were outstanding she without a doubt was right on the money as this looks to be very impressive.The only draw back for us seems to be the same as with a few others on here is the lack of other species such as other primates,bongo or perhaps duiker.

Team Tapir223
 
Houston Zoo is an incredibly popular attraction, with over 2 million visitors last year and that number will steadily increase as the population of the city increases and gorillas are added. The zoo already has a spectacular animal collection and it is comparable to many of the biggest zoos in America. There is a Reptile House, Bird House, Small Animal Building (Natural Encounters), Aquarium, a large primate zone, loads of carnivores, a recently expanded Asian Elephant habitat, big animals like giraffes, rhinos and hoofstock, an incredibly diverse bird collection and one of the nation's top children's zoos.

Houston is a zoo that in hindsight I would rank even higher than I did when I toured it in 2010, and now with Chimpanzees and upcoming Lowland Gorillas the zoo would definitely rise even further in my estimation. The other day I was in a friendly debate with a ZooChatter who was insisting that his group of zoo friends all claim that Houston is the #1 facility of its kind in Texas, but I disagree and would put it in the #2 position behind the great Dallas Zoo. Either way the future seems rosy for Houston and looking at past attendance tracking graphs and with the addition of Lowland Gorillas in 2015 I would not be surprised to see the zoo pull in close to 2.5 million annual visitors within the next few years.
 
TeamTapir223 said:
In a recent conversation we had with Dr Kristen Lucas head of the Gorilla SSP she informed us that the plans in Houston were outstanding she without a doubt was right on the money as this looks to be very impressive.The only draw back for us seems to be the same as with a few others on here is the lack of other species such as other primates,bongo or perhaps duiker.

Team Tapir223
Click to expand...

It sadly seems pretty common that zoos scale back their exhibit plans as real world budgets bite into them. The LA Zoo originally had a new bongo exhibit and monkey exhibits as part of their gorilla plans, but they never made the final cut.
 
One of the cross section from the pdf on the HZ website shows a "grassland" exhibit. Could this be an indication of the possible Bongo exhibit?
 
Aha! Take a look at the "About Gorilla of the African Forest" video and pause it at 0:46. There is another very large exhibit in that diagram that isn't shown on the map on the website. Looks like here is our missing Bongo/hoofstock exhibit.
 
Trowaman said:
As far as I know, yes.
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Will somebody finally put them into the same exhibit together?


I would like to echo jbnbsn99's comment: This looks really, really impressive. If I ever pass through Texas again, I'll be sure to stop in and visit.

Though, I do hope they have the viewing area constantly staffed. I can just imagine a legion of children pounding on that glass during field trips. And unlike otters, gorillas tap back.

One further comment: I don't like the monetization of the allegedly prime views. That's very Disney these days.
 
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I don't know if this question has already been asked, so I apologise in advance.. but is anyone aware of which gorilla individuals are coming to Houston and what collections they maybe coming from?
 
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