The link below has many interesting developments listed, including "the best orangutan exhibit in the world". What a bold statement! There are future exhibits for the zoo's orangutans (8 of them), lions and birds (including a daily flamingo parade) with lots of additional information all contained on this link: Home
I sort of like the building ('beacon of hope' is coming across a bit too strong) and I like the idea of having high cables for the orang-utans to move around to different parts of the exhibit...BUT the outdoor areas (oases?) already seem small and boxy in the artists impressions and that's probably not a good sign. We'll see how it turns out though.
A project I think the zoo should take on, especially with it's ever growing multi generational elephant herd is connect the hoofstock savanna with the current elephant yard. It's quite feasible. 1.6 elephants, soon to be 1.6.1 Not to mention the two female calves at the zoo, assumed to remain at the zoo could have up to seven calves of their own. If this zoo wants to compete with other mega-elephant enclosures they need to expand!
A project I think the zoo should take on, especially with it's ever growing multi generational elephant herd is connect the hoofstock savanna with the current elephant yard. It's quite feasible. 1.6 elephants, soon to be 1.6.1 Not to mention the two female calves at the zoo, assumed to remain at the zoo could have up to seven calves of their own. If this zoo wants to compete with other mega-elephant enclosures they need to expand!
I'm interested how the orangutan exhibit will turn out. With the design concepts, it almost looks like the outside is a glorified version of the National Zoo's the O-Line and the indoor area reminds me of the Toronto and Philadelphia Zoo. Although there are better design elements for guest viewing and enriching the animals. I'm curious about the guest ride being so near Hutan Trail. I almost wonder if they orangutans would ever be tempted to jump into a compartment with them. Although I'm not sure how far the distance is between the two sections.
I've looked at the plans on quite a few occasions during the past few days, and the "beacon of hope" tower is a rather extraordinary construction project. I'm not keen on the idea that the new orangutan exhibit looks absolutely nothing like an Asian forest, and the metal, glass and other human-made resources are all rather jarring at first glance. There are at least a couple of terrific elements to the exhibit, such as the O-Line that is reminiscent of the same overhead cable system that is present at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and the fact that the orangutans will have access to heights of 90 feet beneath the 150-foot beacon of hope tower. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo has a pair of orangutan exhibits with 65-foot tall climbing frames and so Indianapolis will have possibly the tallest orangutan exhibit in the world, even though it will look like a glorified church.
You've got to give them credit for being innovative! Yes, it will be sort of a knockoff of National's O-Line, but even better (and higher). Is there any worry about one of the orangutans falling from that height? As for the Beacon of Hope, I love the idea of adding to the city's skyline. Make the Zoo one of the things people remember most about Indianapolis. There's a good chance the Super Bowl will be back in Indy in a few years, and if so, all of those visitors will remember seeing that tall lit-up Beacon of Hope, only a mile or so from the Super Bowl stadium. My only concern is the same as SnowLeopard's -- there's absolutely nothing "natural" about this exhibit, nothing that emulates the orangutan's natural Asian habitat. But even so, Indianopolis won't be the first to do this with an ape exhibit.
The lack of any resemblance to natural habitat is what I find very strange about this exhibit. From the press release it makes it sound like they want the orang exhibit to become a world center for orangutan conservation. The primary problem for orangutan conservation is that their HABITAT is getting turned into palm oil plantations and lumber concessions. If you want to conserve orangs for the 21st Century and beyond you have to protect their HABITAT and any orang exhibit claiming to have conservation value has to tell the story of the orangs and their habitat. I do like the O-line. I saw it at the National Zoo last summer and it was one of the most superb zoo animal watching experiences that I have ever had. I can see why Indianapolis would want to build on this model, but why not also try and do something innovative to show people what the forests of Borneo and Sumatra are like and why they are important?
Maybe the inside will look like their habitat??? IDK- But $20 million better make for an awesome exhibit. There are rumors that Gorillas, Chimps and Bonobos will come after that. I wish they would split the 20 million and do Gorilla and Orang at the same time. With all the changes coming, the zoo will be losing some of their collection. It's rumored that all of the lemurs will be leaving(except for the ringtails) which is a real shame. They will move into the current exhibit where the gibbons are. The gibbons are moving into the exhibit that currently houses the Red Ruffed lemurs across from Dolphin. They will also be losing the Otters. I am all for the Orang center, but I would hope that the current collection won't be sent to other institutions. They need to build upon what they have. The Lion redo is something that has been needed for years. They should fast track that!
If my guess is correct, that it is former church plan, I wonder about energy efficiency. How much heating this to tropical temperature will cost?
A couple of updates: The new Flights of Fancy is open. The zoo plans to continue to add African birds to the African aviary. The International Orangutan Center is set to begin construction in September. It will open in Summer 2014. The ringtailed lemur island is being demolished and the ringtails will move to near dolphin. The new Amazon exhibit has been canned. The conservatory will be changed out with butterfiles next summer. Lion will be redone in 2015. Great Apes will continue to grow. Bonobos and chimps after orangutans and then gorillas. The zoo also has komodo dragons in holding. As of right now, they have n plans to have an exhibit for them(unless a donor gives a huge sum of cash).
Groundbreaking for Orang exhibit Zoo Set For Orangutan Center Groundbreaking - Newsroom - Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick
The $21 million project has begun to evolve, with May of 2014 still the projected opening date: http://www.indystar.com/article/201...-Orangutan-Center-new-landmark?nclick_check=1
$25 million has been raised by zoo officials for the $30 million capital campaign. Indianapolis Zoo's drive for new orangutan center marks its latest fundraising success
The link below has a 2 minute video on the $21 million orangutan exhibit that is scheduled to open in May of 2014. There are some brief images of the zoo's off-exhibit orangutan facilities, and there are already 8 of the apes in Indianapolis. RTV6 - Construction continues on Indianapolis Zoo's new orangutan exhibit - Local Story
Here is a new website that provides exhibit details and specific information in regards to the upcoming $30 million International Orangutan Center: Home
Has anybody heard anything about future plans at the Indianapolis Zoo? Are they still planning on building an African ape complex with gorillas and bonobos, or was that idea completely discarded? Are there any exhibit plans known beyond the recent macaw show area and conversion of the polar bear exhibit to macaques?
The former polar bear exhibit will be housing water-dwelling monkeys (sorry, I don't know the species) next year.
