Philadelphia Zoo Snapshot #1: Rare Animal Conservation Center

I don't generally see everything on any particular visit to the Philadelphia Zoo, but I always start at the Rare Animal Conservation Center.  It's a mix of smaller mammals with primates dominating.  It's also the most recent large building new construction at the zoo.  Built as a wide curve, it provides a backdrop for the Impala Fountain Plaza.  The backside of the interior is lined with spacious enclosures that have plenty of natural light.

Many of the habitats connect to a series of wire mesh "habi-trails" on the outside of the building giving the animals regular opportunities to skedaddle out of their interior digs to explore the larger world.  On this day the White-faced Saki Monkeys had this option, and later in the day I spied a couple of them hanging out on the far side of the plaza people watching.

As a strategy to combat boredom and provide the animals with opportunities to explore the wider world as they would in the wild, the Philadelphia Zoo pioneered these maze like structures and expanded their design and use to include all of the big cats (Lions, Leopards, Snow Leopards, and Amur Tigers), the Great Apes (Western Lowland Gorillas and Bornean Orangutans), the White-handed Gibbons, and three species of Lemurs (Ring-tailed, White and Black Ruffed, and Mongoose Lemurs).  They even have a version of this for their collection of Goats in the Children's Zoo.

After recognizing the effectiveness such a system has on the welfare of these animals, other zoos are adopting the idea.  Many in new habitats and others in retrofitting existed habitats as part of their periodic upgrading.  Most recently, the Jacksonville Zoo used this in their new Malayan Tiger habit and the master plan of the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan incorporates this into their proposed Grizzly and Black Bear exhibits.

White-faced Saki, Pithecia pithecia

Mongoose Lemur, Eulemur mongoz

Pied Tamarin, Saguinus bicolor

This little cheeky fellow actually put himself in clear view of some of the people looking at him and then stuck out his tongue wagging it up and down at them!  Of course, their reaction was surpise followed by laughter.