I believe our biggest issue is the same biggest issue that the whole world is facing, and that's habitat
destruction.
Steve Irwin
The Great Ape House
It is very easy to see that Orangutans and humans are amazingly similar; both have opposable
thumbs, five fingers, five toes, two ears, a nose, and mouth. The physical characteristics are apparent,
but if you look deeper there are even more significant similarities. For instance, In addition to
orangutans, the family Hominidae includes our species, Homo sapiens. Furthermore, Orangutan’s DNA
is the closest to ours at a whopping 97%. Jeffrey Swartz, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University
of Pittsburg, maintains that man is closer to orangutans than any other living being on Earth. So taking
all this into account, do you feel that Orangutans are any less of a creature on this earth than us? If
Orangutans are truly 97% like humans, should we have the right to imprison them and subject them to
cement, cages, and human dominance for ‘exhibition’ purposes for their entire life? I say no!
Throughout my life I have been fascinated and sympathetic to animals in general. There has not
been a single time where I have not had a pet of one type or another. From dogs to Opossums, my love
for animals has had no boundaries. Growing up, trips to the zoo stand out as some of my most
memorable childhood memories, some good and some bad but none-the-less memorable. I have
always loved the zoo, although I have always had issues with the thought of keeping wild animals
captive. I feel that all living creatures should have equal rights to roam the earth freely as humans do. A
living organism’s degree of intelligence should not determine its right to freedom. I feel that zoos should
try to emulate the animal’s natural habitat to the best of their ability. This among other things is most
likely the reason I chose the Smithsonian National Zoo as the site of my field research trip. I felt that our
nation’s zoo would presumably be the leader in habitat reconstruction. If it is ultimately necessary to
imprison these animals in order to conserve and protect them from becoming extinct, why not make
their environment as close to their natural habitat as possible. Realistically, it’s not the animal’s fault
that humans feel the need to dominate the earth.
The Smithsonian National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is one of the
oldest zoos in the United States, and is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Founded in 1889, its mission
is to provide leadership in animal care, science, education, sustainability, and visitor experience. Yes,
visitor experience. When I read that, I chuckled and thought to myself, “Shouldn’t the animal’s
experience be on that list?” So in other words, the exhibition of the animal is a top priority. I feel that
making the animal’s experience of the utmost importance would inevitably create the best visitor
experience.
As I entered the zoo, I was quite intrigued at the overall size of the park itself. The park sits on
163 acres of beautiful landscape centered in the heart of downtown Washington D.C. Scattered
throughout the park are exhibits in which the zoo states contain approximately 2000 animals with three
to four hundred different species. These figures seem a bit exaggerated though considering the amount
of time I have spent at the park and have only seen maybe thirty at the most. After extensively touring
the zoo, I decided on The Great Ape House as my primary focus of research.
The Great Ape House, constructed in 1980, includes five indoor enclosures for Western Lowland
Gorillas and Orangutans with each enclosure housing two primates. These rather small enclosures are
constructed of primarily concrete with a two inch thick glass separating the primates from the zoo
visitors. The artificial habitat provided by the zoo consists of some small trees, bamboo, concrete tubes,
and one large climbing structure which is approximately six to seven feet tall. Scattered about the floor
is an abundance of hay which I have observed the Orangutans using primarily as bedding. I also might
add that I have not once observed any of the Orangutans interacting with any of the provided stimuli
over the past few weeks. Ironically, a sign located by the entrance states that providing orangutans lots
of choice and flexibility in their daily lives keeps them mentally stimulated and enriched.
Over the past few weeks that I have been visiting the orangutan at the Great Ape House, I have
noticed that one of their favorite activities is gazing out a small portal window located near the exit of
the building. This small circular window gives the Orangutan a view of the outside world and at the same
gives the visitor an intimate interaction opportunity with the primate. For instance, Lucy, the zoo’s
oldest orangutan at 38, spends most of her time staring out this small window to the world.
Unfortunately, her human-like expressions on her face seem that of hopelessness and sadness. I have
spent hours upon hours attempting to communicate with her through this window. Unfortunately, to
her, I am just another human passing through. Even with the occasional eye contact, it seems as though
she is more annoyed with me because of my ability to roam free in a world that she only dreams about.
After spending days observing Lucy and her seemingly depressed behavior, I decided to speak with one
of the zoo’s scientists that works with the Orangutan. After listening to his generic manuscript about
the Great Ape House and its goals, I asked, “If the Orangutan is a tree-dweller, why doesn’t this facility
include a place for them to sleep or play in an elevated area?” “Why are they required to spend most of
their time on the floor?” His response to me was appalling. He claimed that the building was designed
to promote interaction with visitors and if the Orangutan were given the opportunity to be at a higher
elevation, visitors would never get that chance. So overall I have concluded that the Great Ape House
was built more as an exhibition hall than as a habitat for the Orangutan.
The overall experience that I have had observing Lucy and the Great Ape House has only
reaffirmed my issues with animals in captivity. There needs to be more concentrated effort to make
these captive animals feel as though they are part of the world around them instead of an object put on
display for the pleasure of humans. What gives us as humans the right to capture and imprison these
animals for purposes of entertainment? Smithsonian’s mission statement states that they are
demonstrating leadership in animal care, science, education, and sustainability and claim to teach and
inspire people to protect wildlife, natural resources, and habitats. If that is truly the case, why are these
animals imprisoned in a world of artificial objects. To me there is nothing truly great about the Great
Ape House.