Expanded Gorilla Yard - Great Apes of the World

December 2008.

Do they use this? As it seems very open?

Im not sure...I dont really go there to often. In this photo, it is winter, they just filled in a moat to combine to yards, and were starting to plant more vegetation.

Ok, thanks for the reply.

It looks much better than it did in the first week of December, but still a totally inappropriate enclosure for a great ape.

This picture was taken a week after your visit snowleopard.

There is so much more grass on the ground!

Went a few days ago. They are in the process of adding a large set up climbing structures in the middle of the exhibit for when they put the Colobus Monkeys in with Quito later in the month. They also have put a lot of new plants in, though they were roped off with hot wire. I assume that is to keep him from tearing them up until they get larger.

snowleopard said:

It looks much better than it did in the first week of December, but still a totally inappropriate enclosure for a great ape.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, while I agree this is not a great exhibit, it looks very similar to places like Omaha that have escaped your critical reviews.

@reduakari: The 4 enclosures for gorillas in Omaha all offer up a much more varied terrain than the flat landscape in Jacksonville. Plus, there are troops of gorillas (family and bachelor) in Omaha while in this photo there is an exhibit for a single male ape. Thank goodness that the zoo is going to be adding a climbing structure and colobus monkeys to the enclosure, but in general Jacksonville's primate exhibits leave a lot to be desired and are nowhere near as impressive as other sections of the zoo.