I just hope they don't go to the extreme of Jersey(and is it Belfast?) by hanging camouflaged netting, with just a few view holes, all over the frontage of the indoors. This makes it REALLY difficult to see the animals when there are a lot of people about. Admittedly Jersey's indoor areas are very small(that indoor house was built too small really) and nowhere for the animals to escape people's gaze if they want.
I've been looking at all your other photos that show the indoor area too. The glass barrier is definately new as are the timbered 'blinds' to give more privacy. Unfortunately they'll also make the Gorillas harder to see and make the indoor exhibit begin to look 'cluttered' but I can see how the animals may benefit from them. The funny thing is I'll bet they are still shut outside in good weather though....
I went again today and found out that the barrier is meant exclusively to keep visitors away from the glass of the indoor area - apparently a large number would bang/kick the glass, make loud noises and use flash photography despite the abundance of signage; a rope barrier had been set up previously but children would crawl under it. They also managed to move the posts and squeeze in past the ends of the barriers. The new barrier was therefore continued past the first viewing window so that the 'free end' was next to an obstruction (in this case, the bamboo-style supports.) This was about five weeks ago. Since, they found kids still squeezing past the ends of the barriers and so have chained it off. They're hopeful that this will work. Sorry if that's not very clear, I realise that I may have over-complicated the explanation.
(100th post! )
Thank-you, @nayer, for all of that info!
It's sad that visitors behave that way, but why didn't the zoo and the designers anticipate it? How many times have any one of us seen such behavior!
Thank-you, @nayer, for all of that info!
It's sad that visitors behave that way, but why didn't the zoo and the designers anticipate it? How many times have any one of us seen such behavior!
A pleasure, I'm still impressed that you spotted the discontinued barrier in the first place.
The main aim of the windows in Gorilla Kingdom is to bring the visitor really close to the gorillas. I assume that barriers may have been seen to distance the visitor from the animals. Perhaps the rope barrier was a planned alternative if things didn't work out? I guess they didn't expect banging to such a degree because it isn't such a problem elsewhere in the zoo, despite multiple enclosures having glass viewing windows. I also think that the gorillas probably responded a lot more negatively than anticipated; I was told that "it really, really upset them." The designers must have thought that the clarity of so many signs would be enough to keep the disturbances at a low enough level.
I think floor-to-ceiling windows in a building that resembles a MacDonalds is a disaster waiting to happen. No doubt the idea was an open and close experience of gorillas, but with the animals at kicking level hanging out on the side of a building, there was not the needed sense of awe for them...so louts did what they do. It could have been foreseen.
They also managed to move the posts and squeeze in past the ends of the barriers. The new barrier was therefore continued past the first viewing window so that the 'free end' was next to an obstruction (in this case, the bamboo-style supports.) This was about five weeks ago. Since, they found kids still squeezing past the ends of the barriers and so have chained it off. They're hopeful that this will work.
No, that's a perfectly clear explanation. My hypothesis about it being to reduce proximity to the gorillas at that point wasn't correct at least as far as where the barrier extends in front of the first outside viewing window was concerned. Its classic that they have been having these problems though- people will always find a way around if there is one... notices and ropes are not a deterrent to the determined!!
Also the area in front of the indoor viewing area is more of a closed passageway which may subconsciously encourage people to draw closer to the glass, coupled of course with general bad behaviour anyway.
What I do like about the viewing areas of this enclosure are those sawnoff bamboo posts along the perimeter where the windows run out- perfect for leaning on or resting a camera lense on. To me those are very important aspects when you want to watch the animals at leisure and why I would now rate this visually(from the public perspective that is) the best Gorilla exhibit in the UK.
There are a couple of large signs with a small profile (including photo) for each of the gorillas in the exhibit. Bobby’s profile currently says:
“We regret to announce that Bobby, our male silverback, passed away on 5th December 2008.
“As part of an ongoing breeding programme, we are seeking a new male.”
I don’t think that this is much of an issue as the area is actually quite wide and there are viewing windows on the other side as well (opposite the gorilla viewing windows, for the colobus monkeys and the brush-tailed porcupines.)
