Regenstein Center for African Apes - Lincoln Park Zoo

July 2008.

One of 3 outdoor areas for gorillas and chimps (one mesh, one open-topped and one glass) that offer a lot of enrichment for the great apes.

looks like a good exhibit.

A fine playground...but how is it a great exhibit? It's a large cage.

This is one of three outdoor Gorilla habitats. One is not a cage at all, and it is a spectacular ape complex.

Goes to show "the eye of the beholder" thing. I've seen it. Looks like a series of big cages to me. But I appreciate naturalistic exhibits, so this sort of thing is lost on me.

You don't seem to like to many exhibits...

I'm mortified!

Seriously @BlackRhino, I think you're mistaking me for someone else. If you look you'll find I very rarely comment on whether I dislike any exhibit. I thought this post was the first I have ever done that. But maybe not.

And - for the record - I thought the Regenstein African Journey was a fine exhibit (OK, the animals have very small spaces, but the zoo is very small), very well done

Perhaps Black Rhino is confusing Zooplantman with me, as I have shared my dislike for many zoo exhibits on a frequent basis! LPZ's Great Ape exhibit is a terrific facility for the apes, for the staff and the public likes it. That said, it is way down on my list of top ape exhibits, because it tries and fails at being a naturalistic habitat. It is a series of big cages with lots of good furnishings--but the attempts to recreate natural elements are weak--why bother creating "trees" that look like this, or paint a mural on the back wall of the inside spaces that are otherwise just obviously holding cages. it's a waste of money and fails to achieve anything beyond a sense of confusion. As much as I dislike the Howlett's-type cage style, at least it is not pretending to be something it isn't.

Sure it's not the most beautiful exhibit and its no Congo Gorilla Forest or Gorilla Tropics even, but it is a great exhibit for the gorillas, and offers terrific views for guests. I think it has one of the best indoor gorilla exhibits too.