I was a surprised too, considering Snowleopard has bashed larger exhibits than this one But I won't comment on the exhibit as such until I've seen it myself, which should happen in ... 22 days exactly
I have a picture from the zoochat library showing a Gorilla laying on his back enjoying the water.
Is this another example of the exceptional design features of this exhibit, that the designer being aware of the high temperatures of Texas allowed for a water wading area to surround the enclosure.
Great idea to comment on this photo Zooman! The enclosure is much larger than it appears, and I think that if it were empty it would be an average ape exhibit. However, as many have already read via my road trip review the gorillas were the most active troop that I've ever seen and 4 of them were splashing around in the water. One youngster jumped from at least 12 feet and did a cannonball dive into the moat!
I hate to (1) sound smug and (2) state the bleedin' obvious, but does this not point to the absurdity of all those comments on photos of zoos, mostly European (especially Berlin x 2), in which condemnation was offered by those who had never actually seen the exhibits for themselves?
This does look to be a little basic and a little manicured, but I would not offer that as a verdict on this exhibit unless I had seen it for myself - and, preferably, seen it more than once.
@sooty: I'm not convinced that a single thing has changed, as even after visiting Gladys Porter I've stated many times that the gorilla exhibit is nothing to write home about whatsoever, and if one looks at those Berlin Zoo sun bear cages then much more could be said about that style of exhibitry. Gladys Porter simply has an amazingly active, fantastic gorilla troop, and one that I'd heard was a joy to watch before my visit. I'd never seen gorillas in water before, and I saw 4 in their moat just a few days ago.
