Gorillas Land

Lincoln Park Zoo is a free 35-acre (14 ha) zoo located in Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. The zoo was founded in 1868, making it one of the oldest zoos in the U.S and one of the four zoos in the Chicago area. The zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).Lincoln Park Zoo is home to a wide variety of animals. The zoo's exhibits include big cats, polar bears, penguins, gorillas, reptiles, monkeys, and other species totalling about 1,100 animals from some 200 species. The first gorilla kept at Lincoln Park Zoo was the popular male called Bushman, who arrived to the park in August 1930 from Africa and died twenty years later. Kumba, a female born in July 1970 was the first baby born at Lincoln Park Zoo. She died in February 2005 due to end-stage renal failure.

Regenstein Center for African Apes is the name given to the facility where gorillas are kept. It was inaugurated in July 2004 and is considered by many as one of the best facilities in the United States due to its management and enrichment options. It consists on three outdoor yards with a total of 2410 square meters. The Center includes three indoor exhibits accessible for public viewing and one auxilliary area with indoor and outdoor space for off-exhibit holding. It was designed with cognitive and behavioral research in mind. A mezzanine as well as 13 video cameras allow for behavioral monitoring. Chimpanzees and the two gorilla groups are rotated through all the enclosures except by one of them which is exclusively for gorillas.

Photos © Scott Richardson