The Phoenix Zoo announced today that Orangutan Home Services, a Tempe based company, is generously donating a portion of their profits to help support the Zoo's construction of Orang-Hutan: "People of the Forest" habitat.
The donation of $500,000 will be used to continue the construction of the new habitat for the Zoo's family of four orangutans; Duchess, Bess, Michael and Kasih. The exhibit will allow 5 times more space outdoors and nearly 15 times more space indoors than the previous exhibit. The new facility includes two indoor climate controlled habitats and two large outdoor habitats with sway poles, ropes and plenty of climbing structures for the orangutans to enjoy.
The orangutans' most recent exhibit was built in 1975 and was considered state of the art for its time. Since then, more has been learned about orangutans' needs, behaviors, and social structures and the Zoo is incorporating those ideas in this much more naturalistic exhibit. With modern amenities and a larger area to explore, the Zoo will have the opportunity to add more orangutans in the future. Orang-Hutan: "People of the Forest" will open in April 2011.
