Orangutans in Major American Zoos

[junglejim]

The book that I cowrote, titled America’s Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums, contains reviews and photos of 80 zoos and 20 aquariums. There are 47 out of the 80 zoos that currently display orangutans.

The lists that I've done so far:

71 out of the 80 zoos have giraffes
61 out of the 80 zoos have rhinos
54 out of the 80 zoos have elephants
48 out of the 80 zoos have penguins (plus 16 out of 20 aquariums)
47 out of the 80 zoos have orangutans
45 out of the 80 zoos have gorillas
35 out of the 80 zoos have pinnipeds (plus 12 out of 20 aquariums)
22 out of the 80 zoos have common hippos (plus 12 have pygmy hippos)

New orangutan exhibits that have been built in the past decade include only Indianapolis and Kansas City. Although, just before that there was Busch Gardens (2008), Cameron Park (2009), Oregon (2010), Phoenix (2011) and Virginia (2011). Many more zoos are overdue to build new, modern orangutan exhibits and I list a dozen offenders bel
The 47 zoos that have orangutans:

ABQ BioPark
Atlanta
Audubon
Birmingham
Brookfield
Busch Gardens
Cameron Park
Cheyenne Mountain
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Columbus
Como Park
Denver
El Paso
Fort Wayne
Fort Worth
Fresno Chaffee
Gladys Porter
Henry Vilas
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee County
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Oregon
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
Sacramento
Saint Louis
San Diego
San Francisco
Sedgwick County
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Tampa
Toledo
Topeka
Utah’s Hogle
Virginia
Woodland Park

There are far more fantastic gorilla exhibits than there are superior orangutan exhibits, which goes to show just how difficult it is for designers and architects to create a stimulating, natural-looking enclosure for the red apes. It was a bit tricky coming up with 10 half-decent orangutan exhibits.

My 10 favourite orangutan exhibits in American zoos (alphabetical ranking):

Atlanta
Cincinnati
Denver
El Paso
Omaha
Saint Louis
San Diego
Sedgwick County
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Woodland Park

There are a lot of very poor orangutan exhibits in American zoos and I easily came up with a dozen examples of what I consider substandard, boring enclosures. Also of note, is that American zoos do not like to mix orangutans with other species. On my 2019 road trip through Europe, I saw a half-dozen zoos with orangutan exhibits that also included Malayan tapirs, binturongs, northern white-cheeked gibbons, Hanuman langurs or small-clawed otters. Those mixed-species habitats were all terrific to see as it led to a much more active environment for both the animals and visitors.

The 12 worst orangutan exhibits in American zoos (alphabetical ranking):

ABQ BioPark
Birmingham – all indoors
Brookfield – all indoors
Cleveland – all indoors
Columbus
Como Park
Fort Wayne – all indoors
Fort Worth
Gladys Porter
Pittsburgh – all indoors
Milwaukee County
San Francisco

Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo has one of best outdoor exhibits naturally, and an very nice indoor exhibit area. Oregon's Zoo has a reasonable outdoor exhibit that combines gibbons with orangutans. San Francisco Zoo ??? Well there are few human species kicking the tires on that one for "officals" to get it together and even consider the needs of the orangutans who for over a one year time lived outdoors in nothing more than a overhead mesh bridge. It is very, very sad. Especially sense the director wanted orangutans and than totally ignored any environmental needs of the species!

 

[snowleopard]

There is clearly a huge disparity between gorilla and orangutan exhibits in American zoos. On my gorilla thread, there are easily a dozen top-class gorilla enclosures and I actually struggled to narrow the list down to only twelve habitats. Here's the thread:

Gorillas in Major American Zoos

My orangutan data was the opposite, as I struggled to find 10 decent exhibits and I even made a list of 12 subpar orang enclosures in U.S. zoos. Without a doubt, many zoo nerds are already aware that building excellent orangutan exhibits is far more difficult than building terrific gorilla exhibits. Gorillas live in large family groups and primarily stay on the ground, while orangutans are more solitary creatures and are supposedly arboreal but we've all been to loads of zoos with orangs sitting around on lawns.

I know that by adding in animals such as tapirs, otters, or other primates, then that encourages orangutans to take to the heights in many European zoos. Having a land-based species for company might well be a great thing to get orangutans into the trees to avoid a confrontation or just to enjoy some alone time.

In recent years there are zoos that have built new gorilla exhibits such as Lincoln Park (2004), Omaha (2004), Los Angeles (2007), Como Park (2013) and Houston (2015). However, there have been just as many new orangutan exhibits, such as Omaha (2005), Busch Gardens (2008), Virginia (2011), Phoenix (2011) and Indianapolis (2014).

We are at the point now where the number of outstanding gorilla exhibits in American zoos is a lengthy list, but finding even a handful of outstanding orangutan exhibits is almost a lost cause. Woodland Park's habitat is very good if the orangs are in the treetops, but 90% of the time the apes are on the ground or lounging inside. Also, visitors stare down at the animals. Saint Louis has an excellent enclosure, but the viewing area is a little awkward with visitors looking up at the apes. Indianapolis has its fans, but the whole thing looks like a massive church or space station.

One could make a case for Omaha having the best orangutan exhibit in America, and although it's not very naturalistic it does allow visitors to see orangutans mixed with gibbons and high up in the air. During my three visits to the zoo (2008, 2012, 2018), I've always seen orangutans and gibbons high up in the fake trees or brachiating at eye level on the mesh.

Indoor area (with a 32-foot ceiling):

The outdoor trees are 65 feet high and the apes can look out over the entire zoo:

 

[pachyderm pro]

I don't think San Diego is getting enough credit here. Definitely the best orangutan exhibit I've seen thus far. The metal poles aren't the most visually pleasing, but from what I've seen the orangutans here are consistently off the ground so they serve their purpose well. The excellent forest backdrop makes it look like the exhibit goes forever and the barrier is practically invisible. The exhibit is large, has great vertical height, great furnishings, and they are also mixed with siamangs. I am surprised to see this exhibit not mentioned as much when the discussion of best orangutans exhibits is brought up.

 

[junglejim]

There is clearly a huge disparity between gorilla and orangutan exhibits in American zoos. On my gorilla thread, there are easily a dozen top-class gorilla enclosures and I actually struggled to narrow the list down to only twelve habitats. Here's the thread:

Gorillas in Major American Zoos

My orangutan data was the opposite, as I struggled to find 10 decent exhibits and I even made a list of 12 subpar orang enclosures in U.S. zoos. Without a doubt, many zoo nerds are already aware that building excellent orangutan exhibits is far more difficult than building terrific gorilla exhibits. Gorillas live in large family groups and primarily stay on the ground, while orangutans are more solitary creatures and are supposedly arboreal but we've all been to loads of zoos with orangs sitting around on lawns.

I know that by adding in animals such as tapirs, otters, or other primates, then that encourages orangutans to take to the heights in many European zoos. Having a land-based species for company might well be a great thing to get orangutans into the trees to avoid a confrontation or just to enjoy some alone time.

In recent years there are zoos that have built new gorilla exhibits such as Lincoln Park (2004), Omaha (2004), Los Angeles (2007), Como Park (2013) and Houston (2015). However, there have been just as many new orangutan exhibits, such as Omaha (2005), Busch Gardens (2008), Virginia (2011), Phoenix (2011) and Indianapolis (2014).

We are at the point now where the number of outstanding gorilla exhibits in American zoos is a lengthy list, but finding even a handful of outstanding orangutan exhibits is almost a lost cause. Woodland Park's habitat is very good if the orangs are in the treetops, but 90% of the time the apes are on the ground or lounging inside. Also, visitors stare down at the animals. Saint Louis has an excellent enclosure, but the viewing area is a little awkward with visitors looking up at the apes. Indianapolis has its fans, but the whole thing looks like a massive church or space station.

One could make a case for Omaha having the best orangutan exhibit in America, and although it's not very naturalistic it does allow visitors to see orangutans mixed with gibbons and high up in the air. During my three visits to the zoo (2008, 2012, 2018), I've always seen orangutans and gibbons high up in the fake trees or brachiating at eye level on the mesh.

Indoor area (with a 32-foot ceiling):

The outdoor trees are 65 feet high and the apes can look out over the entire zoo:

Without question Omaha exhibit is awesomely impressive, but I really, really want to see zoo's starting incorporating shade elements over portions of outdoor areas. For species covers from rain forest where shade and places to hide are essential, when outdoor no canopy to protect them from full sun exposure. Why isn't this concept overlook, or best forgotten?