APES OF THE LOANGO: - (15 exhibits)
Named after the titular national park famous for its beachcombing elephants and surfing hippopotami. *Apes of the Loango* initially opened as a two-phase expansion of the existing facility; with the first phase opening in 2009, while the second would open shortly after in 2011.
As for the actual beginning, we first begin our tour by making our way back towards the main entrance from where we last met; all while passing by the *Bennett Family Discovery Zoo* and *Destination: Madagascar*. Directly across from the entrance of the *Wetlands Walk*, alongside the historic swan pond, is a rather standard, West African-themed entrance with the exhibit’s name being prominently featured in the form of a wooden sign. However, before we attempt to enter through, look towards your left and you’ll notice a troop of five gorillas, (well in this case, gorilla statues made of bronze). Naturally, this is the first place where families will stop to take pictures before they head off to see the real thing.
Past the entrance and through the shaded trail we go, not too far away is the section’s first attraction. Naturally, this spacious, 21,000 sq ft mud wallow is home to a sounder of the most colorful members of the pig family; aka, a thriving family of
1.3.4 Red River Hogs. Interestingly, the exhibit was not intended to display these hogs when it first opened. For in 2009, this enclosure was first home to a pair of
1.1.0 Yellow-Backed Duikers, a species that left the collection shortly before the hogs moved in back in 2013.
A rather unique feature that makes this exhibit standout is the fact that visitors can walk over the exhibit via, a pedestrian bridge. This is the same bridge that we will cross in order to access the remaining portion of the complex. Immediately to your left, you’ll find no animals and most interestingly, very few trees. If you happen to look down on the footpath, you’ll find impressions of human footprints and vehicle track marks that are found throughout. Up ahead is a standard thatched kiosk with loads of graphic signage, an interactive video display, and even a electronic recycling station. All of this is meant to inform you and other guests about the negative effects of coltan mining, a conservation subject that few zoos worldwide directly address; and how it greatly impacts not only the animals that are losing precious habitat to make room for these mines. But also, the local communities and miners, who may have to resort to illegal bush-meat hunting in order to sustain themselves.
Directly past this kiosk, you might already notice that the exhibit ahead of you is a lot more open than the previous one. This 62,000 sq ft paddock, the zoo’s biggest in terms of overall size; is meant to replicate the open savannas that are often scattered throughout the national park. However, instead of your typical zebras and giraffes, you’ll encounter herds of
1.4.3 Red Forest Buffalo and
1.7.2 Western Sitatunga. In the past, the aforementioned Red River Hogs were also displayed in this enclosure. However, since the hogs were rather problematic towards their larger counterparts, they were later moved into their current exhibit. Since then, things have been relatively peaceful, with no additional conflicts occurring between the herds.
After making a right that takes you back into the more forested parts of the Loango. Splitting off from the main path are two, 600 sq ft meshed aviaries that are connected to the same off-show building. In the first and larger of the two, contains a very special pair of
1.1.0 Black-Casqued Hornbills. Both hornbills were brought to Rembrandt to kickstart a European breeding program to further increase their captive population. While we have had no luck in breeding so far, the zoo remains optimistic in successfully breeding these birds. In the opposite aviary is a rather noisy flock of
2.3.0 Congo Grey Parrots; most of the birds that came to us were surrendered pets that their owners could no longer care for, and thus, each parrot here will be given the best possible care within our facility.
Returning to the main path and walking directly towards your left, is a themed doorway that leads you inside of the main viewing area for one of the section’s two titular apes. Once inside, an impressive, angled viewing window gazes out towards an enormous, 55,000 sq ft portion of native woodland. Feeling like you are at the edge of a forest clearing, it won’t take long for you to spot the zoo’s family troop of
3.4.0 Western Lowland Gorillas, (for real this time, I promise

). But these apes aren’t the only inhabitants that make use of this space, for there is also an equally charming troop of
4.5.0 Red-Capped Mangabeys that will occasionally congregate with the gorillas whenever there is food involved.
After viewing the gorillas and mangabeys from where you’ve stood, you can optionally view both animals from a separate window inside of the “Great Ape Gallery”. This main building is not only where guests can viewing the apes from their indoor day rooms, but it also contains two nocturnal exhibits that guests will find after viewing the gorillas. The first is a 150 sq ft enclosure that contains a family of
1.1.2 Senegal Bushbabies. While across from them, on the opposite side is a larger, 450 sq ft room for “
Bridget”, an elderly
0.1.0 African Civet. Once she passes away, we will eventually bring in a smaller species to replace her since the current exhibit is regrettably small for a civet, let alone an elderly one.
In the very center of the gallery, and after passing through a wooden door. You have now entered into a 4,000 sq ft free-flight aviary that contains a wide variety of birds commonly seen throughout Loango, as seen in the list below:
• - Great Blue Turaco,
• - African Jacana,
• - Snowy-Crowned Robin Chat,
• - African Green Pigeon,
• - Orange-Cheeked Waxbill,
• - Emerald-Spotted Wood Dove.
After being surrounded by the sights and sounds of the aviary, you’ll exit through another wooden door and will soon encounter the indoor day room for a family troop of
3.9.0 Chimpanzees. Like the gorillas and mangabeys, they too have a dedicated viewing window that you can optionally look from; but instead, we will be viewing the chimps from a viewing gallery identical to the one we saw for the gorillas.
Like the gorillas, this 50,000 sq ft enclosure also makes you feel like you’re at the edge of a forest clearing, albeit, with a few man-made climbing structures scattered throughout to give the chimps some extra verticality. Once we head back outside and leave the viewing gallery, which also serves as the main exit for the “Great Ape Gallery” itself. Not too far away on your right are two, 7,372 sq ft enclosures connected by a pair of overhead mesh tunnels. In each enclosure are
1.10.4 Moustached Guenons and
2.1.0 Blue Duikers, which in the case of the former, the guenons are given access to both of the tunnels, allowing the energetic primates to easily move around from one yard to another. As for the latter, the duikers are only given access to the yard closest to the main holding area, which they can readily access in case if either their roommates or visiting guests happen to be a bit too much for the duikers to peacefully tolerate. There is also a small, semi-outdoor, private yard at the back of the building; which keepers move the duikers into if the pair ever expect any offspring, (which they have in the past).
After just a short walk away, we have now approached the first exhibit that opened with the section’s second phase; with the following being a rather simple, yet very naturalistic walk-in aviary. Perhaps the main highlights of this 6,890 sq ft aviary are “
Bennu” and “
Ardea”, the zoo’s charismatic pair of
1.1.0 Goliath Herons. In addition to the pair, the aviary also contains two sizable flocks of
White-Faced Whistling Ducks &
Hartlaub’s Ducks, which will equally steal the show if you observe them long enough.
Leaving the aviary and after making a short lefthand turn, up ahead are the doors that lead you in and out of the “Surfing Hippo House”. Named after the animals that helped make Loango National Park famous for international visitors, the zoo’s iconic bloat of
1.3.0 Common Hippopotamuses are the heaviest land animals that you will see in all of Rembrandt Park; especially since they are considered the zoo’s official mascot. Charisma aside, once you do enter the hippo house; directly to your left is an impressively large, walled-in, saltwater tank for the following inhabitants:
• - Atlantic Tarpon,
• - Crevalle Jack,
• - Giant African Threadfin,
• - Guinean Barracuda.
Continue to your left, and you’ll immediately encounter the underwater viewing area for the aforementioned hippos. Sharing the same space as them are schools of unspecified fish, that would eat any waste and debris that may or may not come from the hippos themselves.
Before exiting out of the building, there is also a smaller, walled-in tank that typically contains the
West African Lungfish. However, it seems that the tank is empty and the lungfish are off display at this time; and for these reasons we’ll make our way out through the same doors that we first entered. Whilst outdoors, the hippos naturally have an impressive, 25,000 sq ft sandy beach, complete with a 360,000-gallon pool in which the underwater viewing area directly looks in to. While there are no underwater viewing areas aside from the one indoors, a rather unique feature that carries on the surfing hippo theme is an actual wave machine. Yes indeed, the hippos do in fact get to enjoy the simulated waves much like their wild cousins would do in the Atlantic Ocean; and while the waves aren’t exactly big or show-worthy, it does make up for an otherwise generic exhibit for one of the zoo’s most popular animals.
After leaving the hippos behind, you have already reached the exhibit’s main exit; and while you make your way to the main entrance, not only will you pass by the swan pond and the *Wetlands Walk* mentioned in the beginning of the post. You’ll also pass the *AACC*, *Lorikeet Jungle*, Monkey Island, and the Australian Pelican exhibit. From here, we have now returned to the “Conservation Commons”, as first mentioned in the very beginning of the this thread; and while we’re still here, don’t forget to buy yourself a souvenir that might have interested you at the “All Things Wild” gift shop. Or if you happen to be interested in buying an annual membership, you can do exactly that at the nearby “Gateway Center”. But beyond that, and after exiting through the turnstiles opposite of the ones that led you in; from this point forward, you could easily tell yourself in your mind, that you’ve had an amazing experience inside of the one and only Rembrandt Park Zoo.
(
11 mammal taxa)
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11 bird taxa)
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5 fish taxa)