Yes , absolutely , the apes habit of reaching for floating "food" was a real risk , and whilst the water was initially shallow it then took a sharp drop just beyond those electric wires. Obviously apes have drowned before in such enclosures. By our current standards in zoos it was awful but back in those days this building was hailed as one of the very best for its day, though its popularity was short-lived. It replaced the even worse old chimp cages that stood on the site prior to 1967. Z.
It was modelled on Dudley's, which in turn was modelled to an extent on the Bronx zoo's house. But each was built smaller than the previous one- Chessington's being the tiniest. It was truly awful.
the female Gorilla 'baffia' spent nearly all her time when outside sitting on the single platform to keep away from the dominant Kumba. As a result of this fear, as an adult female she never bred as she would not let males come near her. Now in their old age Kumba and Baffia are back living together again, but in considerably more harmony than in their youth.
The orangutan pair Tuan and Nonja never bred either but lived as fully adult animals in this house.. I believe they were exported to Holland(?)
You know ....... 1982 really wasn't that long ago, and it's quite astonishing how comparatively recently this sort of thing was thought to be perfectly acceptable by people who worked day in, day out, with animals.
Yet long before 1982 - as a small child in the 70s - I can remember my parents (who were complete amateurs, but animal lovers) frequently commenting upon zoo enclosures they came across which seemed to be lacking in space, privacy, shade, shelter, and/or stimulation. They obviously wouldn't have been the only visitors to feel horrified and upset by what they often saw ...... e.g. animals displaying signs of mental distress.
If the public could see what was so terribly wrong right in front of them, why did it take so comparatively long for the so-called experts to realise it too ?
You know ....... 1982 really wasn't that long ago, and it's quite astonishing how comparatively recently this sort of thing was thought to be perfectly acceptable by people who worked day in, day out, with animals.
This was a unique example- nowhere else at that time built anything nearly as bad as this. Its as if they thought adult Apes were only the size of small monkeys...
I think it 'slipped through' because Chessington is not a normal zoo, historically being more a leisure park with an animal collection attatched to it. They had not kept Gorillas or Orangutans before so had no prior experience of them and were probably completely ignorant of their needs anyway and the architects only work to what they are asked for..
Oddly Chessington have a thriving Gorilla group nowadays and are soon to embark on a very large new enclosure.
Ever seen photos of Sydney's old Ape cages? The Orangutans were still living in them until the early 1990's.
I visited Oklahoma Zoo in the early 1980's- there was a new Gorilla House(pretty poor) but the Orangutans and some Gorillas were still living in the old 'house'- awful, and it didn't have any outsides at all.
New Orleans/Audubon Zoo had a pair of young subadult Gorillas(Scotty and Molly-the same age as Baffia & Kumba at Chessington) living in a tiny barred cage which I think was even smaller than Chessington's enclosure!
The reason I visited Chessington that time was because a friend of mine worked there. She said the Ape House was a fairly recent addition (this was in 1982), and I recall the zoo promoting it as a new attraction.
The ape house built in the early 80s was the current gorilla enclosure. Very soon after this photograph appears to have been taken, the chimps and gorillas were moved to the current enclosure (the chimps had what is now Baffia and Kumba's cage).
The orang utans, however, had to stay in this house for another 5 years or so before it was demolished circa 1987. I am assuming they were given the run of the entire complex. It does make Dudleys ape house look fantastic in comparison.
This was probably the single worst enclosure ever built in a UK zoo in the last fifty years- nothing else compares. Dudley's version, though archaic, is a lot more spacious- all three yards here could almost fit into one of Dudley's.
I was there at the opening of the Ape House. It was a farce. Some of the apes had not arrived from wherever and Twycross stepped into the breach and loaned them some of theirs. What a joke!!
The ape house built in the early 80s was the current gorilla enclosure. Very soon after this photograph appears to have been taken, the chimps and gorillas were moved to the current enclosure
The orang utans, however, had to stay in this house for another 5 years or so before it was demolished circa 1987.
I think that answers your question. I believe there is a 'ride' on the site now.
The current enclosure has also come in for some critisism in recent years. It is a copy of Howlett's- style cages but has become rather cramped for the number of Gorillas living in it. They recently built some more nightquarters and are planning a second 'cage' now that the Gorillas are living in two groups.
