A black-and-white ruffed lemur explores a net tube thoroughfare June 30 in the new Primate Canopy Trails at the St. Louis Zoo.
For the first time in their lives, the monkeys and lemurs at the St. Louis Zoo truly don’t know what the day will bring.
Who will their neighbors be? Will the sun come out for a little sunbathing? Is that leafy branch within reach, and is it tasty? What about that pesky fly? Where does this tunnel lead? What’s that chirping — and that roar in the distance?
And who are all these other primates — the loud ones holding up cellphones?
St. Louis Zoo curator of primates Heidi Hellmuth gives a preview of the new Primate Canopy Trails, an outdoor habitat next to the historic Primate House. It opens to the public at 10 a.m. July 12. Video by Valerie Schremp Hahn, photos by Christian Gooden
The zoo’s new Primate Canopy Trails habitat, opening to the public July 12, creates a whole new world of possibilities.
“The fact that the zoo put so much time and resources into making an exhibit that allows our animals that kind of unpredictability is amazing,” said Heidi Hellmuth, the zoo’s curator of primates, on a recent tour of the habitat. “It’s a game changer, in our opinion.”
The $13 million space, officially called the Michael and Quirsis Riney Primate Canopy Trails, was funded by donors and took two years to build. It occupies land that had been home to a sea lion arena and chimpanzee show and is attached to one of the zoo’s oldest buildings, the Primate House; the 1925 structure had been renovated over the years and had six smaller outdoor habitats that were suitable for only a few species.
The new outdoor attraction includes a series of netted habitats — eight outdoors, 12 indoors — connected by tunnels. The spaces can be combined in at least 100 different configurations. Grasses and bushes provide snacks for the animals to explore and eat.
A black-handed spider monkey rests June 30 at the new Primate Canopy Trails at the St. Louis Zoo.
“So suddenly, their life has expanded dramatically,” Hellmuth says.
About 40 different monkeys and lemurs representing 14 different species live at the Primate House. Some of them had never lived outside. The primate care team started introducing the animals to their new home about two months ago.
“Watching them come outside the first time and look around and feel the wind and all that — it brings tears to our eyes,” Hellmuth says.
Keepers thought it would take the Guereza colobus monkey family group, who had never been outside, days to make their way from the Primate House to the new Primate Care Center at the opposite end of the outdoor habitat. “It took an hour,” Hellmuth says.
There was no rhyme or reason to how each animal reacted for the first time. Some followed the dominant family member, some ventured out on their own and a few, like the Allen’s swamp monkeys, took days to make it all the way out.
One male Francois langur named Deshi likes to use displays, or showoff-y behavior, to keep predators away and defend his family group. Inside the old building, he would become agitated and hit the glass on the front of the enclosure if humans were too close.
Outside, Hellmuth says, Deshi seems more confident, perching in spots above visitors to keep an eye on things and shaking branches, which are more natural behaviors.
“Anything he can do to make noise makes him feel like he’s doing his job,” Hellmuth says, as Deshi perches above on a draped fire hose. “But as I like to say, adolescent young male primates of any species can exhibit very similar tendencies. You’ll always know if you come here which one is Deshi.”
While the new habitat is obviously for the monkeys and lemurs, human primates can enjoy it alongside them. At the Primate Canopy Trails main entrance, visitors of all ages can climb through a treehouse with rope bridges and tunnels, where they’ll learn about wildlife corridors and forest fragments, which primates must navigate in order to find food.
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Allen’s swamp monkeys live in west central Africa, and their conservation status is near-threatened. They live near water, and webbed toes help them swim.
Black-and-white ruffled lemurs live in eastern Madagascar and are named for the “ruff” of hair at their neck and chin. They are critically endangered.
Black-handed spider monkeys are native to southern Mexico and Central America and are endangered. Their prehensile tail can grab small objects such as sunflower seeds.
A coquerel’s sifaka, named for the cry it makes when it sees an enemy. The exist in the wild only in Madagascar and are critically endangered.
The cotton-top tamarin is native to Columbia and is critically endangered due to deforestation, capture for research and the pet trade, and hunting.
Francois langurs of southeast Asia are endangered. They are born with bright red and orange fur, which helps the adults in their group keep track of them.
A Geoffroy’s marmoset lives in eastern Brazil and eats both plants and meat. They use their teeth to gouge into trees to get the gum that oozes out.
Guereza colobus monkeys live in central Africa, and their conservation status is threatened. Babies are born white with a pink face.
Mongoose lemurs weigh only 3 to 4 pounds and are native to northwestern Madagascar. They are critically endangered.
Ring-tailed lemurs live in large social groups and are native to southwestern Madagascar. They are endangered.
The spectacled langur, a leaf-eating monkey, is native to Thailand and the Malay Peninsula and is endangered. The monkeys are orange at birth.
A white-faced saki monkey can leap up to 30 feet in the treetops. They live in northern South America.
Allen’s swamp monkeys live in west central Africa, and their conservation status is near-threatened. They live near water, and webbed toes help them swim.
Black-and-white ruffled lemurs live in eastern Madagascar and are named for the “ruff” of hair at their neck and chin. They are critically endangered.
Black-handed spider monkeys are native to southern Mexico and Central America and are endangered. Their prehensile tail can grab small objects such as sunflower seeds.
A coquerel’s sifaka, named for the cry it makes when it sees an enemy. The exist in the wild only in Madagascar and are critically endangered.
The cotton-top tamarin is native to Columbia and is critically endangered due to deforestation, capture for research and the pet trade, and hunting.
Francois langurs of southeast Asia are endangered. They are born with bright red and orange fur, which helps the adults in their group keep track of them.
A Geoffroy’s marmoset lives in eastern Brazil and eats both plants and meat. They use their teeth to gouge into trees to get the gum that oozes out.
Guereza colobus monkeys live in central Africa, and their conservation status is threatened. Babies are born white with a pink face.
Mongoose lemurs weigh only 3 to 4 pounds and are native to northwestern Madagascar. They are critically endangered.
Ring-tailed lemurs live in large social groups and are native to southwestern Madagascar. They are endangered.
The spectacled langur, a leaf-eating monkey, is native to Thailand and the Malay Peninsula and is endangered. The monkeys are orange at birth.
A white-faced saki monkey can leap up to 30 feet in the treetops. They live in northern South America.
Humans can walk under and through clear acrylic tunnels, where the monkeys and lemurs might leap and crawl overhead. Visitors can walk under mesh skyway tunnels that the monkeys and lemurs use to travel from one habitat to another — or to stop and play or sunbathe. (Ring-tailed lemurs are known for sunbathing; they look like little Buddhas when they lounge, Hellmuth says.)
For now, humans will travel one way through the space, exiting through the Primate House. Some of the indoor habitats may be empty because their residents are outside.
At the new Primate Care Center building to the south, lower windows allow visitors to peek inside. Upper windows give the primates some privacy but allow them to see the outside.
Primate Canopy Trails is worlds away from the famous Chimpanzee Show that the zoo presented until 1982. Costumed monkeys would ride horses and tricycles and walk on stilts.
It was a different time — and mindset. People viewed the primates as humans, and some may have come away from the show wanting to own one. Primates as pets are a real risk, Hellmuth says.
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“Watching them come outside the first time and look around and feel the wind at all that — it brings tears to our eyes.”
Heidi Hellmuth
The zoo wants Primate Canopy Trails to inspire visitors to help protect the animals in the wild. Humans can recycle, use products with sustainable palm oil, donate to conservation organizations, and look for the Forest Stewardship Council logo on paper and wood products.
Some of the species represented at Primate Canopy Trails are endangered or critically endangered. After the animals are more acclimated in their new habitats, keepers will focus more on breeding efforts.
“We want you to see how amazing these animals are, using natural abilities in a naturalistic habitat in natural family groups,” Hellmuth says. “We want you to come here, be inspired, make an emotional connection and then say, ‘What can I do?’”
What Michael and Quirsis Riney Primate Canopy Trails • When Opens at 10 a.m. July 12; zoo summer hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday-Saturday • Where St. Louis Zoo, 1 Government Drive, Forest Park • How much Free; zoo reservations required • More info stlzoo.org/primatecanopytrails
Photos: St. Louis Zoo primates take to new outdoor playscape
New outdoor primate area to open to public
A Francois langur climbs June 30 in the new Primate Canopy Trails at the St. Louis Zoo.
New outdoor primate area to open to public
A Guereza colobus monkey on June 30 inside Primate Canopy Trails at the St. Louis Zoo
New outdoor primate area to open to public
Horticulturists pass by a children’s climbing structure June 30 as finishing touches continue at the St. Louis Zoo’s new Primate Canopy Trails.
New outdoor primate area to open to public
A Francois langur on June 30 inside Primate Canopy Trails at the St. Louis Zoo
New outdoor primate area to open to public
A portion of the children’s climbing structure at the St. Louis Zoo’s new Primate Canopy Trails
New outdoor primate area to open to public
A black-handed spider monkey rests June 30 at the new Primate Canopy Trails at the St. Louis Zoo.
New outdoor primate area to open to public
A portion of a children’s climbing structure at the St. Louis Zoo’s new Primate Canopy Trails
New outdoor primate area to open to public
A black-and-white ruffed lemur explores a net tube thoroughfare June 30 in the new Primate Canopy Trails at the St. Louis Zoo.
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