WITH its exotic trees and plants, and running waterfalls, it looks, sounds and feels like a tropical forest.
The gloomy light, soaring temperatures and sticky humidity are exactly the conditions that chimpanzees experience in the Budongo Forest in Uganda.
But now they are being recreated in Scotland's capital as part of a new £6 million exhibit at E
dinburgh Zoo.
The Budongo Trail, which houses the world's largest chimpanzee enclosure, is being billed as the new "jewel in the crown" for the zoo and is expected to lure visitors in droves when it opens to the public on 1 May.
The zoo's 11 chimpanzees, previously housed in a basic outdoor enclosure, are now getting used to life in three private "zones", linked by tunnels, where behavioural experts will monitor how they react to their new environment.
They have already been moved into three indoor "living pods" which have been designed to mimic their natural habitat. A huge climbing structure – the biggest in the world for chimps – has also been built in the outdoor section of the enclosure, linked to the living pods.
The new chimp enclosure, which the Princess Royal is due to visit for a sneak preview tomorrow, has been designed to try to replicate conditions at a primate research station in the Budongo Forest, in Uganda.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which runs Edinburgh Zoo, has had official links with the project for more than three years, when it began funding research there.
The new facility, which will eventually allow the zoo to house about 40 chimps after new breeding programmes have been introduced, has a number of viewing platforms and panoramic windows to allow visitors to see the animals.
It also includes touch, sound and smell exhibits and a lecture theatre will host talks with keepers and chimp experts who have been monitoring the animals.
Visitors will also be able to find out about threats to the forest and its wildlife, and get an insight into the sophisticated behavioural research on primates being carried out in both Edinburgh and Uganda.
A spokeswoman for the zoo said: "The research we're carrying out will compare how the chimps react to the new environment and how their behaviour compares to when they were in the old enclosure, which they have liked a great deal.
"The three big living pods will have different conditions, representing different aspects of the chimps' natural forest habitat.
"Visitors will be able to view the chimps from various vantage points from both inside and around the enclosure, as well as watching the work that is going on in the research offices."
David Windmill, chief executive of the RZSS, said: "We very much hope that the Budongo Trail will be at the forefront of primate research, particularly as we've tried to replicate as closely as possible the kind of conditions that chimpanzees are experiencing in Uganda."
A LITTLE BIT OF UGANDA COMES TO CORSTORPHINETHE Budongo Conservation Field Station was set up in the heart of the Ugandan forest in 1990 by Professor Vernon Reynolds to study and help conserve its threatened population of chimpanzees.
It has long been under threat from deforestation, while a growing trade in bush meat has increased the danger to the animals. Snares set to trap animals such as antelopes and wild pigs are also killing a large number of chimps. The Budongo Trail has been designed to stimulate the chimps and encourage natural behaviour. Professor Reynolds has been one of the main advisers to the Corstorphine zoo on the project, the first of its kind in the world.
Each of the living pods has a different layout, as well as varying degrees of temperature, light, sound and humidity. Plant experts have been able to ensure that the habitat of the pods is as accurate as possible to the real thing.
The outdoor section of the chimps' enclosure, and the climbing frame, have been laid out to encourage their natural curiosity and intelligence.
Jo Richardson, head keeper at the Budongo Trail at the zoo, said: "In Uganda, the ongoing research involves the monitoring of around 70 chimps, but they are not held in captivity, they are out in the wild.
"We've tried to create a mixture of habitats and areas to monitor how the chimps react to different situations, in groups and also on their own."
The full article contains 735 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
