Krefeld Zoo: This is what the monkey house should look like

Krefeld – On Thursday, the Krefeld Zoo received the green light for the new monkey park from the city council. A large majority approved the resolution. Now an animation shows what part of it should look like.

Construction of the tiered warm house for chimpanzees is scheduled to start this summer. According to the plans, the animal facilities are on the ground floor and the animal care area is on the upper floor. Adjacent are two outdoor areas covered with stainless steel mesh.

West African chimpanzees are said to live in the northern part, and a bachelor group of lowland gorillas on the other side. A third, smaller species of monkey should be able to use the outdoor area together with the gorillas via a lattice tunnel.

The new warm house is to be connected to the district heating network and will be similar to the existing extended Gorilla Garden (to be completed this year). But: The new house will be accessible. Visitors should be able to observe the behavior of the monkeys through panoramic windows and be able to warm up in winter.

“Varied landscapes with trees, climbing trunks, platforms, watercourses, retreat huts, artificial and natural rocks will be created in the outdoor enclosures,” says the zoo. First, the chimpanzees Bally and Limbo from the Gorilla Garden will move in and soon form a new group of chimpanzees.

This construction phase alone costs 11.5 million euros (90 percent of which insurance money and donations, total cost of the system: 33 million).

Around 50 animals died in the major fire in the old monkey house on New Year’s Eve 2020, including eight great apes. A group of gorillas and the chimpanzees Bally and Limbo were not injured and continue to live in the Krefeld Zoo. The inferno was triggered by a sky lantern that had set the roof on fire.