Givskud Zoo - Gorilla exhibit

Part of the huge gorilla exhibit in Givskud Zoo, Denmark. This picture only shows a tiny portion of the exhibit. Once the trees behind the hotwire grows up the whole exhibit will have a more foresty feeling about it. The gorilla in this picture is the male silverback Samson.

August 2009

If I'm not mistaken, this island used to have Chimps until Copenhagen decided to replace their Gorillas with Orangutans and sent the Gorilla family to Givskud instead. Would you know where the Chimps went? And have the Orangutans returned to Copenhagen? I'm assuming Copenhagen will then hold on to them as well as Chimps?

I am affraid that you are indeed mistaken Baldur

Givskud Zoo has been keeping chimpanzees since 1981. The current chimpanzee island and house in Givskud Zoo opened in 1987 with an area of 1133 square meters and a large group of chimpanzees have lived there ever since.

Copenhagen Zoo decided to give up gorillas in 1998 due to lack of space and Givskud Zoo offered to take them so that gorillas could still be seen in Denmark. Their new exhibit in Givskud Zoo was built specially for them and opened in 2000. The gorila troop attained national fame through a television series covering their moving from Copenhagen and Givskud Zoo had more visitors that year then ever (441.000 compared to 302.696 in 1999).

Copenhagen Zoo has not kept orangutans for more than 30 years and it is not 100% certain that we will again. It has been part of the last masterplan but it is not yet completely decided. Copenhagen Zoo is the EEP coordinator for western chimpanzee (pan troglodytes verus) and ESB coordinator for common chimpanzee (pan troglodytes) so it is very unlikely that the zoo will give up keeping chimpanzees.

Copenhagen Zoo has been debating a plan to move the chimpanzees from the tropical house to the african area of the zoo. This would open up a slot for the orangutans in the tropical house near the asian area. If the chimps stay in the theme "Tropical Rainforests" then there will be no orangutans.