A new primate reserve opened at the Philadelphia Zoo on June 1st. I was one of the first to see it. Here is a picture of the outside entrance. It is designed to look like an abandoned lumber mill. The building, with 24 foot high windows, lets visitors view gorillas and other primates outside on the 2.5 acre site surrounding the building. |
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Inside, the building is open and the living areas for the primates, enclosed behind glass,extend to two stories. Their living and play areas have cargo nets and platforms for climbing and watching their visitors. Microphones inside the exhibits broadcast the calls and sounds to visitors. |
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From the mezzanine, visitors can look down on the indoor and outdoor gorilla and orangutan exhibits and the colobus monkey dayroom. |
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Here is a group of lemurs perched high in their two-story enclosure. Eleven different primate species are housed at the reserve. |
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This is a picture of me inside the primate reserve. Although there was a happy celebration to open the reserve, it had its beginnings in a sad story. On Christmas Day in 1995, a fire at the Zoo's old primate house killed 23 gorillas, orangutans and other primates.I noticed walking through the new reserve that sprinklers are everywhere. The Zoo is making sure that a tragic fire like the one in 1995 never happens again. |
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The Philadelphia Zoo PECO Primate Reserve opened to the public on July 1. You can visit the Philadelphia Zoo online and read more about the reserve at The Philadelphia Zoo - PhillyZoo News. |
