new orangutan exhibit

Jesus! What's that? A bungee jumping park? Or a climbing area to train soldiers or circus acrobats? Ugly, ugly, ugly. And the only natural element is the gras for the mostly tree dwelling orangs?

Am I right in thinking the idea is they come out of the den, and straight up the tall ladder thing onto the O line walkway above? So this enclosure is just a starting point, maybe not on public view either.

Attractiveness- 0 points.

I didn't think that this exhibit could look any worse.

Apparently, I was wrong.

The National Zoo has a very similar setup, with a slightly bigger yard:

http://www.zoochat.com/612/great-ape-house-orangutan-exhibit-o-169551/

Newer is not always better...

Given the similarities, I'd be interested to learn of any visitor surveys from Smithsoniam NZP of what visitors learned about orangs, their habitat, conservation efforts there, etc. Does this approach really work for wild orangs (any better or worse than at any other orang exhibit). For my money THAT is the purpose of the project.

Ways to improve this outdoor yard... Maybe add a greenwall that grows clematis to ass a "tropical" look, heavily plant the yard, maybe some fabricated rock wherever necessary. I'd love to see that happen, but one can only dream.