Like many gorilla exhibits at American zoos this enclosure is between 1-2 acres in size, but the sight of so many evergreen trees in a great ape habitat is a little bizarre. There is certainly a lot of space for the troop to roam, but I've heard from local visitors that the animals spend much of the time inside due to Colorado's long, cold winters.
I agree sort of a bizarre gorilla exhibit, I must add Colorado winters can be very mild at times with temps sometimes in the 60s in the middle of the winter so that shouldnt be a factor in judging the greatness of the exhibit. How does this gorilla exhibit compare to the one in Denver?
I agree sort of a bizarre gorilla exhibit, I must add Colorado winters can be very mild at times with temps sometimes in the 60s in the middle of the winter so that shouldnt be a factor in judging the greatness of the exhibit. How does this gorilla exhibit compare to the one in Denver?
I honestly enjoy watching the gorillas in this exhibit than at Denver's gorilla exhibit. Both outdoor exhibits are nice and have a lot of room for the gorillas. Denver's exhibit is more lush but doesn't have any climbing structures for them. Cheyenne's isn't as lush, mainly because most of the foliage is mountain plants ( plants that survive with very little water ), but still make that up in the natural enrichment they give them. Denver also uses natural enrichment for their great apes too but their other primates have fake trees spread out through the exhibits. Denver has a very nice indoor exhibit thats 10 times better than this one mainly because of the hight and climbing structures.
One thing that I have noticed with Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's animals is that they are a very curious bunch of animals. I'm not sure why they seem to be more interested in us than other zoo's animals that I have encountered. Denver's animals wouldn't give a care about the visitors poking their heads into the exhibit and shouting at the animals, but Cheyenne's animals, in what I have seen, almost enjoy all the attention they are getting and give it back to the visitors.
