This gorilla exhibit is definitely functional for the zoo's small troop (2 males?) but it is also rather bare and for the most part visitors are staring down into the enclosure in an attempt to locate the apes. With some more deadfall scattered throughout the exhibit, along with a few more gorillas, this habitat would be greatly improved.
This is a bachelor exhibit. The current two inhabitants are brothers. When the exhibit initially opened there was a mature silverback and the two brothers were juveniles. It was great fun watching them wrestle with each other. The mature male, Max, passed a few years ago and now the two brothers are full silverbacks. I don't imagine that more gorillas would be added until they have gone through their full lifecycle.
This is a bachelor exhibit. The current two inhabitants are brothers. When the exhibit initially opened there was a mature silverback and the two brothers were juveniles. It was great fun watching them wrestle with each other. The mature male, Max, passed a few years ago and now the two brothers are full silverbacks. I don't imagine that more gorillas would be added until they have gone through their full lifecycle.
IMO, these gorillas and this exhibit are an argument for casteration of males.
When l last visited a couple of years back the gorillas were as bored and stressed as l have ever seen. I know l should not judge on one visit but!
If they were casterated they could be potentially introduced to a family group and live out there lives in a socially rich environment rather than there present sentence to a long life of boredom, social solitude and stress.
I think if that once the gorillas move out of the zoo, the proximity of the exhibit to California Trail would make for a good desert bighorn sheep or general hoofstock exhibit with some modifications.
