It is extremely rare to find gorilla exhibits in the modern zoo world where the apes live entirely indoors without even a sniff of the outside world. I can only think of a small handful of gorilla enclosures, and a slightly larger number of orangutan exhibits, in North American zoos where the apes have zero outdoor access.
It is extremely rare to find gorilla exhibits in the modern zoo world where the apes live entirely indoors without even a sniff of the outside world. I can only think of a small handful of gorilla enclosures, and a slightly larger number of orangutan exhibits, in North American zoos where the apes have zero outdoor access.
Out of curiosity did you talk to anyone at the Buffalo Zoo about why they have their gorillas cooped up like this? I noticed that the macaques have a really nice looking yard (at least it looks that way from your photos); why no similar yard for the gorillas? LAME.
I know someone on ZooChat, who used to work in the zoo industry, who believes that this gorilla exhibit is the single WORST large mammal enclosure in any American zoo. The vegetation in this photo is high up and outside the exhibit, there is prominent electric wire around the top of the fake rocks, and everything is horribly outdated and unnatural. The enclosure is around 30 years old, the gorillas have bred multiple times in the past (what else is there to do?) and yet the idea of an all-indoor gorilla exhibit is baffling in its antiquity. But then again Buffalo Zoo has some ghastly looking bear pits, lion/tiger grottoes, and several other enclosures that leave a lot to be desired. The new Rainforest building is rather impressive and it stands atop the heap of exhibits at this zoo by a country mile!
I know the gorilla keepers would love them to have an outdoor exhibit. It's also featured on the zoo's original master plan. However, with new projects on the horizon, which seem like they may take a long time, the gorilla outdoor habitat is not on the top of the list. I do wish they had outdoor access, especially with the new little baby. How wonderful it would be to see her step on grass for the first time.
Out of curiosity did you talk to anyone at the Buffalo Zoo about why they have their gorillas cooped up like this? I noticed that the macaques have a really nice looking yard (at least it looks that way from your photos); why no similar yard for the gorillas? LAME.
The recent financial past of this zoo has been bleak, and while the future looks promising on paper I'm unsure how long it will take the zoo to make significant improvements. America's 3rd oldest zoo is a poor one, and of the 60 zoos in the book "America's Best Zoos" I would personally rank Buffalo at #60.
The terrible gorilla exhibit was built in 1981, the small elephant house was built in 1912, the elephant yard was renovated in 1993 and many improvements during the past 20 years have been modifications and renovations rather than brand new facilities. In the past 15 years the zoo has only added a handful of new exhibits, and while the Rainforest building (2008) is highly impressive for the most part this is a zoo that I'd call "static" as it has hardly changed in recent years.
I personally believe that the gorilla exhibit at Buffalo Zoo is a strong contender for the absolute worst zoo exhibit in the United States, and ex-zoo director David Hancocks (Woodland Park, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Werribee) had this to say about the enclosure in the September/October 2012 issue of International Zoo News:
"Buffalo Zoo calls this their 'Gorilla Habitat'. It has as much to do with habitat for gorillas as does a high security isolation cell for a psychotic terrorist."
References have been made to the Buffalo Zoo's financial problems. They have just built a multimillion dollar exhibit for polar bears. Are upgraded digs for the gorillas on the horizon?
