Regenstein African Journey (RAJ) is unique among Lincoln Park Zoo buildings in that it evokes a place: Africa. From the native foliage to the animal calls that echo throughout, RAJ immerses the visitor in Africa’s diverse ecosystems.
The building follows the continent’s waterline, heading from the pools and lush verdure of the Tropical Rain Forest to the dust and rock of the Dry Thorn Forest, only to end with a refreshing dip in the Great Rift Valley Lakes.

This diversity of design provides a wide range of experiences. Whether you’ve toured Regenstein African Journey 20 times or never entered, there’s always more to see. This guide is designed to provide insider’s information about the building—the details that didn’t make it onto the signs—as taken from the expert knowledge of its keepers and curators. It will provide a closer look at how exhibit design, enrichment activities and animal behavior combine to provide a fully immersive experience.

Each exhibit at RAJ highlights Africa’s natural biodiversity while providing optimal environments for the animals. Birds fly, hippos swim, klipspringers climb and meerkats dig, and their enclosures are designed to accommodate these activities. Visitors can gain a sense of the animals’ needs by simply looking at their surroundings. Is there running water in the enclosure? Do the animals have access to multiple levels? Are they housed with other species or individuals of the same species? These questions can help provide a window into the animals’ behavior.

Similarly, while the exhibits attempt to replicate natural surroundings, the enrichment items offered to the animals stimulate natural behaviors. Every animal in RAJ takes part in a carefully scripted enrichment schedule. Meerkats, with keen senses of smell, are provided perfumes or spices for enrichment, while black-and-white colobus monkeys are given food puzzles to manipulate. Clippings from the building’s plants are provided as browse materials for the pygmy hippos to chew on, as they would in the wild. Natural behaviors, such as opening the mouth, are also promoted by keepers in daily operant-conditioning sessions used to prepare animals for medical procedures.

While great effort goes into making RAJ ideal for its inhabitants, similar effort is spent ensuring a fun and educational visitor experience. It may seem obvious, but the building’s signs are a great source of information on conservation status, range and habitat, adaptations, behavior and numerous other fun facts. In keeping with the immersive atmosphere, the signs also provide a closer look at the status of Africa’s ecosystems as well as the traditions and conservation activities of its native peoples. This insider’s guide is intended to help you become an RAJ expert, but reading the signage is a necessary first step.

Next: Tropical Rain Forest

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