September 2008. This habitat's claim to fame is being the very first naturalisitic gorilla enclosure on the planet. Somewhat surprisingly it still holds up very well 29 years later.
September 2008. This habitat's claim to fame is being the very first naturalisitic gorilla enclosure on the planet. Somewhat surprisingly it still holds up very well 29 years later.
It was the first ever completely naturalistic gorilla habitat ever created in any zoo worldwide, and now this year is the 30th anniversary and it is still terrific. One of the enclosures is a little small compared to other ape exhibits, while the second exhibit (they are side by side) is quite a bit larger. There are about 13 gorillas there now, and there is no indoor viewing at all. One of the most praised aspects of the habitat is that there is a very large canopy in both enclosures, where there are heat lamps and piles of hay for the gorillas to forage through. Too many modern gorilla exhibits (Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, etc) have large fields which is great for space but sadly lacks the jungle canopy that gorillas crave.
It was the first ever completely naturalistic gorilla habitat ever created in any zoo worldwide, and now this year is the 30th anniversary and it is still terrific. One of the enclosures is a little small compared to other ape exhibits, while the second exhibit (they are side by side) is quite a bit larger. There are about 13 gorillas there now, and there is no indoor viewing at all. One of the most praised aspects of the habitat is that there is a very large canopy in both enclosures, where there are heat lamps and piles of hay for the gorillas to forage through. Too many modern gorilla exhibits (Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, etc) have large fields which is great for space but sadly lacks the jungle canopy that gorillas crave.
I agree with you 100%. I saw an amazing video on youtube that showed the gorillas on their first day out with the new climbing trees they received over the summer. The video looked like the gorillas were up in the trees in the real Congo rain forest. It is really hard to believe this gorilla exhibit is 30 years old because it looks spectacular.
