Look up in the sky

At the zoo today you may have seen this type of crane:

And also this type of crane:

This 250-ton crane using a 160-foot boom was on hand today to lift three 30-foot tall trees into the gorilla exhibit for silverback Vip’s group. You might not guess it, but gorillas are adept climbers, often building nests in trees in the wild. And though you’ll find lots of other trees and vegetation already in the gorilla exhibit, these trees are a bit different—they are made of steel pipes with reinforced concrete. Skillfully built, painted and installed by our talented exhibits crew, the new trees will serve as safe climbing structures for the gorillas’ enrichment, and they’ll resist rot and damage for years to come.

Check out the trees’ creation and installation:

Pete’s group in the adjacent gorilla exhibit will likely be back out this week, but Vip’s group will remain off view while the installation crew puts the finishing touches on the tree installation.

We’ll report back on how the gorillas take to the new structures soon!