The San Francisco Zoo is a 100-acre (40 ha) zoo located in the south-western corner of San Francisco, California, housing more than 260 animal species. Originally named the Fleishhacker Zoo after its founder - banker and San Francisco Parks Commission president Herbert Fleishhacker - planning for construction began in 1929. Most of the original exhibits were populated with animals transferred from Golden Gate Park, including two zebras, a cape buffalo, five rhesus monkeys, two spider monkeys and three elephants. Today it includes a Gorilla Reserve, housing western lowland gorillas (the birthplace of Koko the famous signing gorilla), and a Primate Discovery Forest containing common chimpanzees, macaques, mandrills and several species of monkey.
History
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Caesar's First Visit
Scientist Dr. Will Rodman took his three-year-old chimpanzee surrogate son, Caesar, to San Francisco Zoo primatologist Dr. Caroline Aranha for medical attention after incident with their neighbor Douglas Hunsiker. This is where, Caesar had first encountered the chimpanzees held in the zoo's enclosure and met his future adoptive human mother. There was a female Zoo Guide who also worked as another employee at the zoo.
Ape Rebellion
Five years later, Caesar now leading a mass breakout of genetically altered apes (from the San Bruno Primate Shelter and Gen-Sys Laboratories), had his gorilla friend Buck lead a band of apes and break into the San Francisco Zoo. This act not only terrified the people there but liberated countless apes such as gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees greatly increasing the ape army's numbers as well proving themselves to a be a more powerful threat to humanity. When liberating the captive apes, the evolved apes used the bars on their cages as spears like weapons against the humans and they fled the zoo with their new brethren. Caesar then tried to bring all the apes to freedom at the Muir Woods Park redwood forest which laid across the Golden Gate Bridge. Seeing only the rampaging wild animals, the San Francisco authorities tried to corral the apes on the bridge and massacre them.
Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge
On the bridge, these apes were then put under the command of the ape leaders; the chimpanzees under Rocket and Koba, the orangutans under Maurice and the gorillas under Buck. Caesar, the alpha of the entire group launched a three pronged attack with the chimpanzees attacking from the bridge high wires, the orangutans attacking from below the bridge with the main forces being led to attack the police. Caesar then had the gorillas push a bus in range of the police bullets which left the police unable to attack. With not problems, Caesar taking a police horse led had his army attack the defenseless officers beginning the first battle to determine the ape's future.
Freedom
After the fierce battle in which many deaths on the humans side, and some deaths on the apes side most of these apes survived and reached Muir Woods to live in true freedom with their own kind.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Evolving
Ten years, after the ape rebellion it would seem these apes have grown smarter due to them interacting with the evolved apes or having contracted the ALZ-113 from them and are now able to take part in hunting and sign language among the other apes. The unevolved apes have become more organized and it would seem many of them now stand in the high ranks such as a gorilla named Luca who serves as the new fourth-in-command of the ape army even without being given the ALZ-113 drug. It is unknown if any of these apes have had children with some of the evolved apes and if their children would inherit intelligence while in the embryo like in the case with Caesar and his children. (CE: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
Notes
- An earlier version of the script paid particular attention to the alpha male chimp in the zoo enclosure, who had noticed Caesar on his visit to the zoo and later submitted to Caesar's leadership during their escape.
- Claimed by producers/screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver in the commentary on the Blu-Ray disc of Rise of the Planet of the Apes that the apes at the zoo did not get the ALZ-113 gene therapy, but they instinctively followed the other apes.
Appearances
See Also
- West African Jungle
- San Francisco
- San Bruno Primate Shelter
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Muir Woods Park
- Gen-Sys Laboratories
- Ape Village
- Ape Gate
- Caesar's Home (CE)