This was originally a bear grotto, and part of the North American section before the Gorillas were moved there. It was by far the smallest of three Gorilla enclosures. The current Campo Gorilla Reserve was the former location of the Kodiak, Grizzly, and Black bears.
I find it interesting about Los Angeles Zoo how it has since the 1960s used the same exhibits for totally different species. I can't picture this as a bear grotto, unless of course you take away the platforms. That 'cave' there would hardly have been used by the gorillas but you see them frequently in bear exhibits.
Take away the platforms, add some large logs, and you have a bear grotto. But unfortunately, there wasn't any sod originally. Just bare concrete. And this particular space was probably the smallest of all the former bear enclosures. Thank God it's gone! And despite the much criticism of Campo Reserve, it's still a vast improvement over this.
My parents had an old coffee table book of Los Angeles published by Sunset Magazine around 1970. It included an overview of the "new" Los Angeles Zoo with a series of these grottos in bare concrete. My parents passed away last year, but my brother may have the book. When I go out to L.A. this summer, I should see if he has it so I can scan the photo for ZooChat.
(It also has a photo of the old Japanese Deer Garden in Buena Park which I went to as a child - anyone else remember that place?).
I remember the old Japanese Deer Park, in Buena Park, California. I went there once, probably around age 13 or 14. They had shows featuring bears from Japan, and a petting area with deers. I also remember a small toddler getting head-butted by a deer there as well, but with no apparent serious harm. They also had costumed characters walking around the park called "Fuji Folk." And I believe fellow ZooChatter Meagan Edwards has already provided an old postcard photo of the Kodiak Bear exhibit from back in the 1960s, I remember having at one time. Its somewhere in this gallery.
