Inside the Rain Forest

The Associated Press

Zoo Atlanta’s $4.5 million Ford African Rain Forest is designed to simulate the gorilla’s native Africa.
The exhibit is home to 23 gorillas, including the late Willie B.’s five offspring, Ivan, a gorilla from the Pacific Northwest, and 16 gorillas from the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center of Emory University.
The exhibit, which opened in June 1988, contains four outdoor habitats separated by moats, where western lowland gorillas live in family groups. The habitats, which measure 1.5 acres total, give them the space and freedom to choose their daily activities.
The drill monkey, an endangered, forest-dwelling monkeys, is primarily terrestrial, although young drills can be seen jumping through the trees.
Zoo Atlanta is one of only four zoos in the United States with a collection of drills. Only the drills at Zoo Atlanta and Los Angeles Zoo have produced offspring. Zoo Atlanta’s drills have produced seven offspring.
Mona Monkey is smaller than the drill monkey. It is arboreal and spends much of its time in the upper levels of the rain forest. The Old World monkeys are known for grimacing and baring their teeth when excited or angry.  The drill and mona monkeys dwell in the Monkeys of Makokou exhibit, added to the Ford African Rain Forest in September 1990.
Also in exhibit is the The Sanaga Overlook, a walk-through aviary featuring unique and colorful African birds, such as hammerkops, crested guineafowl, violaceous turacos, racket-tailed rollers and others. These birds occupy different levels of the environment and are representative of the birds that live in west African forests.