ORANG-HUTAN: “PEOPLE OF THE FOREST” ORANGUTAN EXPERIENCE

Now Open, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

On March 27, 2010, the Phoenix Zoo broke ground on a new state-of-the art orangutan exhibit. The ground breaking was held on the same day the Zoo celebrated Duchess’ 50^th birthday. Duchess is the matriarch of our family of Bornean orangutans, and one of original inhabitants of the Phoenix Zoo.

Now just a little more than one year later, Duchess and her family are getting accustomed to their brand new home. With two outdoor yards, two dayrooms and four bedrooms, they have a lot of exploring to do. The new exhibit, entitled Orang-Hutan: “People of the Forest,” provides a more natural environment for our family of orangutans. Duchess shares the new exhibit with her daughter Bess, granddaughter Kasih, and Kasih’s father, Michael.

The word orangutan comes from the Malay words “Orang,” meaning person, and “Hutan,” meaning forest. It has been the accepted name for the red apes in the English language since 1691. The name of the exhibit shares the origin of the name for these incredibly intelligent animals.

The $3.7 million project provides our orangutans with five times more space outdoors and fifteen times more space indoors. The old exhibit, which was built in 1975, was considered state of the art for its time. However, since then we have learned more about orangutans and their needs, behaviors and social structures. Those new ideas have been incorporated throughout the exhibit. In the new exhibit, the orangutans are able to climb and swing above the ground as they do in the forests of Borneo. Also, with five times more space outdoors, there is more room for the orangutans to move and interact as they would in the wild.

While creating this exhibit, it was important that the orangutans have more space indoors where they spend over half of their time. Four bedrooms and two large dayrooms provide the orangutans with many options for indoor space. The dayrooms are viewable by guests, making the orangutans available for guests to see year-round. The orangutans will be viewable in their dayrooms on days where it is too hot or cold for them to be outside.

Providing a better guest experience was also a high priority in creating the new exhibit. Climate-controlled viewing areas provide guests with an area to cool off and experience face-to-face viewing with the orangutans. The dayrooms allow guests to view training sessions between the orangutans and their keepers, providing an opportunity to witness the amazing intelligence of the orangutans. The naturalistic environment in the outdoor yards allows guests to view many of the orangutans’ natural behaviors.

The Phoenix Zoo is the only zoo in Arizona that houses great apes, and one of only 48 zoos in the United States and Canada that house orangutans. The new exhibit allows guests to view these amazing animals in a naturalistic environment and to learn about orangutans and their endangered habitat. The Phoenix Zoo hopes that this exhibit will inspire people to live in ways that promote the well being of the natural world.

Orang-Hutan: “People of the Forest” is part of the Phoenix Zoo Capital Campaign to provide a World Class Zoo for a World Class City.

To learn more about Orang-Hutan: “People of the Forest” check out some of our blog posts about the new exhibit or visit phoenixzoo.org/orang-hutan