Gorilla Kingdom outdoor habitat - March 2008

Whole island planted out with new grasses. Edge of moat returfed and a large stretch of land in the foreground protected with hotwire as a result. View from 'gorilla field station' as you exit walk-through flight. Colobus cage just out of view to the left.

It looks like they've added a lot more trees to the island in the year since i last visited. I think there were 3 then...

yes, defintely new trees have been planted

I'm assuming that the general public loves this exhibit, as London's attendance has shot up to the highest its been in many years.

Okay, more stumps were added, and more grass.... That foreground "tree" is one of the ugliest things ever perpetrated in any zoo, ever. Still a sorry attempt to create an "African rainforest," by a zoo still clinging to the memory of past greatness (19th century). I'm sorry, London was given far superior plans for a gorilla habitat that were obviously ignored in favor of this joke.

Very bad, I agree. Though not as shockingly bad as the new "Gorilla Island" at Kolmården Zoo in Sweden - a zoo that has been a forerunner in animal welfare ever since its creation in the 1960s. Which is why I am so appalled by the new enclosure. I wrote the zoo about it but received no answer:

http://www.zoochat.com/472/new-gorilla-island-kolm-rden-zoo-48163/

As a Swede, I am ashamed that this outdoor gorilla enclosure is allowed to exist in my country. I simply cannot believe it!