Walk into the Hubbard Orangutan Forest, and you open the doors to a country 9,000 miles away. The new Hubbard Orangutan Exhibit at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium features an enclosure for Denda, the zoo’s newest male orangutan. There are new sounds and smells and a dim feel to the redesigned building at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, an attempt to recreate the habitat you’d find under the canopy of a rainforest in Indonesia.
In the actual Bornean orangutan exhibit, ropes made of fire hose stretch 30 feet high so the animals experience the climbing they would do in their natural habitat. “It’s a really immersive experience,” communications manager Jacey Kallsen said, both for the animals and zoo visitors. The zoo unveiled the renovations Friday, a $21 million project funded solely by donations.
It also announced that Denda, a 22-year-old male, has joined the four other orangutans living at the zoo. He will stay in a renovated area that once housed the siamangs. “With the habitat space we gained in this renovation, Denda came to our zoo to serve as an additional ambassador for his species,” said Christine Dupre, supervisor of apes.
Denda, a 22-year-old male, has joined the four other orangutans living at the zoo. Renovations began in September 2022. It was time to update and modernize the exhibit for the animals, Dupre said.
Education and immersion were the goals, with more modern technology playing a big role. A dual-screen projector will display an inte.