Absolutely. It can't be done in NW Europe; vegetation growth is seasonal, and gorillas do not like being cold and damp.
So you end up with a large expanse of space devoid of animals for maybe six months of the year. This is allowing for the fact that when it rains in Dublin, it doesn't compromise on the issue.
My fear is they have, like so many places, created this huge outdoor enclosure that will be very little used, irrespective of the climate or season. If they are not shut outside and given 'free choice', most of the group will spend much of their time using the indoor area or (if shut out) sitting close to the door.
AFAIK they have 'gardened' for the Gorillas, planting a huge variety of vegetation and small trees, but we will see if this makes any difference to the overall appearance of the area, longerterm. But I think using the term 'rainforest' is a mistake, any other term would provide a less obvious comparison.
If you look at some of my other pictures you will see the Gorilla foraging all over the island, they love eating the lush growth around the island. The exhibit also has heat pads located around the island to encourage the Gorilla to spend time in the outdoors. There are real trees in the exhibit which the Gorilla have ventured up and there is plenty of rain in Ireland!
Just out of curiosity what would the good people of zoochat have called this exhibit? "gorilla moated exhibit with some trees in the middle of the capital city of ireland"?
