I did not really like this exhibit when I saw it. To dark and "concrety". And I don't understand why they don't replace the moat with a glass wall, etc. This would give the chimps much more spaces.
But I have to admit that judging from pictures, I find the exhibits for chimps and gorillas to be the weak link at Kolmården. Practically everything else there is great, at least as far as the outdoor enclosures are concerned.
You may have misunderstood me a bit here, Toddy. I was referring to both the indoor and the outdoor great ape enclosures. But if you say that the chimp outdoor enclosure is alright then I believe you, of course. Good to hear that!
But what about that awful "new gorilla island"? I have made a lot of fuzz about it here at ZooChat, but haven´t got any response. To me it looks like absolute crap! I have e-mailed Kolmården about it but haven´t received any answer. Have you seen it for yourself? The question I keep asking is if this is just an EXTENSION to an already existing outdoor exhibit, or if this is indeed THE outdoor exhibit. If so, it is a disgrace! If it is an extension to a - hopefully - better designed area - then I have no problem...
Rillekolmard, if you read this I believe you should be able to answer my questions about the gorilla enclosure?
@Dan: I find the chimpanzee island to be decent enclosure for these apes. It is green and the chimps have room to climb about. The indoor exhibits for both apes are rubbish though. To dark, too small and too "concrety" like I stated above.
The gorilla island looks very much like the chimpanzee island. It is a nice idea, but simply too small for gorillas. And not nearly "wild" enough. I have heard of this so-called "new gorilla island", but looking at the picture posted by rillekolmard, I do not see at all how it differs from the Gorilla Island I saw back in 2006. They look exactly the same to me!
Another thing that annoys me about Kolmården is the hype about Enzo being the first gorilla born in Scandinavia. Seems to me that they are forgetting Effie, born in Copenhagen in 1993. Do your research! But that is probably just my personal opinion
OK, Toddy... let me just get this straight, once and for all: the "gorilla island" (be it "new" or "old") is the ONLY outdoor enclosure for the gorillas? It is NOT an extension of another gorilla outdoor enclosure?
