Lincoln Park Zoo is home to one of the world's outstanding collections of gorillas. Residing in the Lester E. Fisher Great Ape House along with our world-famous gorillas are two other species of great apes--chimpanzees and orangutans.

Built in 1976 and named after former zoo director Dr. Lester Fisher, the Great Ape House contains six naturally lighted habitats for primate family groups. Here, apes learn social skills including how to care for their young and develop relationships with members of their troop. The facility provides living and recreation space and off-exhibit areas where the apes can enjoy privacy. You can also visit the gorillas in their remodeled outdoor habitat in warmer weather.

Lincoln Park Zoo's rich gorilla history began in 1930 with the arrival of a wild-born, 37-pound orphan named Bushman, who grew to become one of the largest lowland gorillas in captivity weighing 575 pounds and towering 6'2" tall. Since its first gorilla birth in 1970, Lincoln Park Zoo has gained international rcognition for having one of the most successful breeding programs for the critically endangered lowland gorilla with over 40 gorilla births to date.

The largest of all primates, the western lowland gorilla has the erroneous reputation for being a ferocious, aggressive beast. Even though an adult male can weigh up to 500 pounds and stand up to 6 feet tall, gorillas are the most docile of apes and are generally shy and peaceful. Found in the dense jungles of west Africa, gorillas spend the majority of their days foraging for food. In the wild, lowland gorillas feed on over 100 species of plants, eating mainly fruit.

Gorillas primarily live in highly developed groups, called troops, led by a dominant male called a silverback. The distinctive patch of gray hair on his upper back develops with sexual maturity, around the age of eleven. The silverback determines when it is time for the troop to eat or sleep and when it is time to travel. He is also responsible for protecting and defending the troop.

The endangered chimpanzee is often thought of as a small, gentle primate. In truth, however, chimps are noisy, active, aggressive, and they are not small. Adult males can weigh up to 200 pounds!

Highly intelligent, chimps communicate through facial expressions, body postures and vocalizations. They are insightful problem solvers and make use of tools more than any other animal, apart from man. For example, they will use reeds to extract honey from bee hives, and rocks to smash the hard shells of various nuts and fruits.

Found in the humid forests and dry savannas of central and west Africa, chimps are primarily vegetarian but will eat insects, birds and even some small mammals, including other primates.

Meaning "old man of the forest" in the Malay language, the shaggy, red-haired orang-utans were once fabled as crazy, long-haired men running wildly through the woods. Found only in remote, steamy rain forests of Sumatra and Borneo, orangs are well-adapted for their arboreal lifestyle. Their greatly elongated arms and relatively short legs have hook-shaped hands and feet for grasping branches and vines.

Adult male orang-utans are much larger than females and usually weigh twice as much as they do. Males also develop enlarged cheek flaps and throat sacs around the age of 12. Orang-utans are gravely endangered and probably the rarest of the apes, with fewer than 8,000 individuals remaining in the wild. Lincoln Park Zoo is an active participant in the orang-utan SSP.