In May 2014, visitors to the Indianapolis Zoo will be able to experience an entirely new sort of connection at the International Orangutan Center. The new center will give visitors the chance to solve puzzles alongside orangutans, facilitating communication and cooperation.
“It will be fascinating for visitors to interact and cooperate with these soulful, intelligent creatures,” says Leonard Hoops, president and CEO of Visit Indy.
Eight orangutans will call the place home, each with distinct personality traits. From Azy, the group’s dominant male, to energetic and playful Rocky, who is the youngest in the group and was taught how to socialize by Knobi, his adopted mother.
The orangutans come from diverse backgrounds, such as rescue organizations, the entertainment industry and research think tanks like the Orangutan Language Project at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
The innovative exhibit was thoughtfully designed with the orangutan’s intelligence and curiosity in mind, and includes impressive architectural features that humans will appreciate as well, like the Beacon of Hope tower that will become a visible part of the Indianapolis skyline.
An aerial “Hutan Trail” will encircle the enclosure and allow the great apes to travel high above the ground. Hutan means “forest canopy,” and the pathway will be constructed out of vertical pylons and a series of cables, mimicking how orangutans move through trees in the wild, and allowing them flexibility to move and socialize. Guests will be able to take in the aerial views from a tramway that will travel alongside the trail.
The entire Indianapolis Zoo and 3.3-acre White River Gardens can be rented for buyouts, with available amenities that include a private evening dolphin show and shark touch tanks. Proceeds from events support the zoo’s animal conservation mission.
