Oklahoma City Zoo Orangutan Climber

In order to improve the health and wellness of the orangutans inhabiting its existing exhibit, Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Gardens engaged Salas O’Brien as their chosen zoo design firm. We designed a new climbing structure, built to promote natural climbing and brachiating. The climber aims to improve animal wellness by promoting higher levels of physical activity and fitness as well as offering the orangutan opportunities for enrichment. The climber consists of three levels of decks interconnected by large climbing posts crowned with hoop hammocks. The structure also includes a number of attachments for artificial firehose vines to further promote movement from post to post and deck to deck.