Thursday, August 31, 2017

Summer Vacation Redux #8: Omaha: Henry Doorly Zoo, part 5 of 11


Next stop were the habitats of the largest primates, the Orangutan House and the Hubbard Gorilla Valley.   Both provide large interior and exterior habitats for their residents.  The Orangutans were in a transition from being inside to moving outside for a midday meal of vegetables and protein pellets.  So it wasn't possible to get a good picture of any of them, though I got see some as they left their interior space.  The newer of the two adjacent facilities is the Hubbard Gorilla Valley, with not only offers an expansive interior space, but a variety of separate exterior spaces to allow the Gorillas the chance to be together or not depending on their needs and the situation.  Sometimes males prefer their privacy for example.  I was able to see about half a dozen different adult males, and then inside a group of females along with a baby born this past January 18.  In one of the Gorilla yards, the zoo had a lone Yellow-backed Duiker, and a pair of both Black Crowned Crane and Abyssinian Ground Hornbills.  In other areas of the building habitats contained lesser apes and monkeys as well as birds and smaller rodents.

 Yellow-backed Duiker, Cephalopus silvicultor.


Black Crowned Cranes, Balearica pavonina, and an Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Bucorvus abyssinicus.


 The first of two of the zoos over half dozen adult males.  This Western Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, is perched in a glass alcove where he's the center of human attention.

 This is the baby (7 1/2 months-old) Gorilla, Kgosi.  He was also a real crowd pleaser.
 This is 22 year-old Tambo, Kgosi's mother.  Kgosi is her first offspring, though 21 year-old, Timu, Kgosi's father has sired 3 previous offspring.
 A Diana Monkey, Cercopithecus diana.

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