Gladys Porter Zoo is in Brownsville, Texas, and I think that it is almost directly next to the Mexican border. The heat can be overwhelming in summer and the gorilla enclosure is capable of being utilized year-round. There is a large and active troop and a secondary exhibit with a pair of elderly gorillas, but the zoo is packed with apes as there are also orangutans, chimpanzees and several species of gibbon. The water is used as a swimming pool, and the troop might be the only gorillas in captivity that regularly dive-bomb into their moat. However, high walls keep them contained and seeing them is quite an amazing experience.
@ hadrada - you are not that far off. It is definitely an unattractive exhibit. The uniqueness of seeing them in water is its only positive feature. When I was there (March 2011), the water was not quite this deep as I recall.
How common is that kind of behaviour for gorillas ? I know from those incredible National Geographic photographic articles that they frequent swamps in Central Africa but how common is it for them to wade into water like this ?
@Onychorhynchus coronatus From what I understand, and others can also contribute, is that the behaviour is extremely rare and the Gladys Porter Zoo gorillas are famous for it because they are showcasing a learned behaviour from their parents and siblings. It was extraordinary to see the gorillas actually leap into the moat during my solitary visit to this zoo a decade ago.
