Some of us are excited to see the Saint Louis Zoo’s new Michael and Quirsis Riney Primate Canopy Trails exhibit, opening July 12, through the eyes of a child. Heidi Hellmuth, curator of primates, also gets to see it through the eyes of the animals. In the runup to the opening, the zoo’s staff has been transitioning groups of primates into the $13 million exhibit, which consists of eight habitats, tunnel connections, and more than 100 different living situations when combined with the Primate House. The goal: to keep things fresh and the animals engaged. “One thing that is hard to do when you’re taking care of animals is have an animal wake up in the morning and say, ‘I wonder what today is going to bring,’” Hellmuth says. “This is the closest, in my opinion and to my knowledge, any zoo has ever been able to come to offering that to primates.” Here are some of the features the primates have been getting acquainted with over the past few weeks.
- Primate Canopy Trails has two gardens, the Edible Forest and a winged sumac garden, for growing browse—leafy snacks—for the primates to eat and play with. Coquerel’s sifaka lemurs need this food every day. When the zookeepers transitioned the lemurs into Primate Canopy Trails, they enjoyed the winged sumac so much, it was gone by the day’s end.
- When he transitioned into Primate Canopy Trails, a young colobus monkey who had never been outside bounced around the tunnel like it was a trampoline.
- In Primate Canopy Trails, animals can express natural behaviors in ways they weren’t able to inside the Primate House. When he transitioned to the new exhibit, a male François’ langur was leaping in a way that wild male langurs do to protect their habitat and family group. “He’s always done that to the extent he could,” Hellmuth says. “But getting to see him using the muscles—the balance, the leaping ability, all of these things that he was born with and that these animals have evolved with—somewhere that allows them to fully express it is just phenomenal.”
- There are also plants inside the Primate Canopy Trails habitats. The Allen’s swamp monkeys have decided they enjoy pulling them out … every day. “Our amazing horticulture team replants them with a smile,” Hellmuth says.
- Instead of fixed, permanent pathways for swinging, Primate Canopy Trails has attachment points on structural beams for ropes and faux vines, so the primates can traverse the exhibit in new and different ways.
- All primates, including humans, need healthy forests—that’s the message of Primate Canopy Trails. An interactive climbing structure allows kiddos to explore, and it explains why continuous forests—large, unbroken areas of green space—are so important to wildlife.
- Each of the eight habitats in Primate Canopy Trails has direct access to indoor shelter. Four tunnels lead to the Primate House, and four lead to the Primate Care Center. Inside the care center, windows provide the primates with a view to the outside, which they didn’t have at the Primate House. Visitors can peek into the care center, too.
- Two custom-built boxes in each habitat provide shelter from the rain or just a place to spend some alone time. In the winter, the caretakers can add a heating pad to transform the boxes into a warm zone. Each habitat also has custom shade sails and a cool mist fan for warm days.
