Ragunan Zoo - The Schmutzer Primate Centre

The Schmutzer Primate Centre

The Schmutzer Primate Centre was opened in 2002, within the Ragunan Zoo but privately funded and managed separately. It is one of the largest of such centers in the world. The 13-hectare (32-acre) special enclosure houses various primates, including gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans. The center was named after the late Pauline Antoinette Schmutzer, who donated her estate to the center. Dr Willie Smits of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation designed the orangutan enclosure so that the orangutans have as natural an environment as possible. Thick dark glass allows visitors to see the orangutans while being invisible to them.