Best Gorilla Exhibit in the US?

Bronx is -- as everyone else is saying -- easily #1 in this category! Nothing else is even close.
The runner-up position would have to be a tight competition between Atlanta and Disney.
Others in the Top 10 (not necessarily in this order): San Diego, Woodland Park, Columbus, Lincoln Park, Omaha, Busch Gardens, and maybe Los Angeles, Sedgwick County, or St. Louis.
 
reduakari said:
Much better than KC or SDWAP. I'd put Dallas's right there with Disney, Atlanta and Woodland Park. Bronx is no question the 800-pound gorilla in this discussion.
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How is that much better than KC?

I'd put KC over Columbus and LA ANyHuis.

But I guess it depends on how you judge it based on it just being a bachelor group. I have no question the exhibit itself is better than LA or Columbus, but the lack of a gorilla troup is a detriment, although it's great that they help out in this way.

And yes, of the zoos I've been to, Bronx is the best, at least if you don't discount them for not being on exhibit for 5 months or whatever it is.
 
mweb08 said:
How is that much better than KC?
I'd put KC over Columbus and LA ANyHuis.

But I guess it depends on how you judge it based on it just being a bachelor group. I have no question the exhibit itself is better than LA or Columbus, but the lack of a gorilla troup is a detriment, although it's great that they help out in this way.
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I didn't say either (LA or Columbus) are "much" better than KC's gorilla exhibit. As you point out, there are many different factors to consider when "rating" the best gorilla exhibits. One factor is which is the "most natural" habitat for the animals? By that measure, then yes, I'd certainly put KC ahead of Columbus, and maybe LA too. But another very important factor is how many gorillas you can see. Columbus has a huge troop, and LA has at least a half dozen -- all readily visible for the viewing public. On the other hand, when I've gone to KC's gorilla exhibit, I've always seen only one or two of them, and always from a distance. So that's why I put LA and Columbus ahead of them.

But no one can say I don't like KC! In our book, I rated the entire KC Africa exhibit as the #3 zoo exhibit in the entire USA -- ahead of Congo Gorilla Forest, in fact.
 
ANyhuis said:
I didn't say either (LA or Columbus) are "much" better than KC's gorilla exhibit. As you point out, there are many different factors to consider when "rating" the best gorilla exhibits. One factor is which is the "most natural" habitat for the animals? By that measure, then yes, I'd certainly put KC ahead of Columbus, and maybe LA too. But another very important factor is how many gorillas you can see. Columbus has a huge troop, and LA has at least a half dozen -- all readily visible for the viewing public. On the other hand, when I've gone to KC's gorilla exhibit, I've always seen only one or two of them, and always from a distance. So that's why I put LA and Columbus ahead of them.

But no one can say I don't like KC! In our book, I rated the entire KC Africa exhibit as the #3 zoo exhibit in the entire USA -- ahead of Congo Gorilla Forest, in fact.
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The much better part was to the person I quoted.

Yeah, quantity of gorillas is the problem at KC, but it is much better than those other two when looking at it without animals in it like your co-author likes to do. The LA Zoo has better viewing, but no canopy or plants/trees that aren't hot wired. It's really not much different than Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in that regard, yet those exhibits get bashed by many.
 
I think the reason the Congo Gorilla Forest is the best gorilla exhibit in America is because it has everything you could possibly want in a gorilla exhibit. You have a brilliant experience for visitors with the panoramic views and the tunnel with gorillas on both sides. Not only this, but the exhibit connects visitors with gorilla conservation in the wild, with them voting for where their extra fee goes. There is always a gorilla in view of visitors with nearly 20 gorillas. A large troop is also great for the gorillas because in the wild they live in large family groups. Of course Congo Gorilla Forest is also the best exhibit for the gorillas themselves. Its very spacious, has the best canopy of any zoo, and has loads of enrichment activities that encourage natural behaviors built right into the habitat. The exhibit is also loaded with lush plant-life and is extremely aesthetically pleasing for the visitor.

There are hardly any other exhibits in America that accomplish all that I listed above, and that I think is what separates the Congo Gorilla Forest from nearly all the other exhibits in America.
 
BlackRhino said:
I think the reason the Congo Gorilla Forest is the best gorilla exhibit in America is because it has everything you could possibly want in a gorilla exhibit. You have a brilliant experience for visitors with the panoramic views and the tunnel with gorillas on both sides. Not only this, but the exhibit connects visitors with gorilla conservation in the wild, with them voting for where their extra fee goes. There is always a gorilla in view of visitors with nearly 20 gorillas. A large troop is also great for the gorillas because in the wild they live in large family groups. Of course Congo Gorilla Forest is also the best exhibit for the gorillas themselves. Its very spacious, has the best canopy of any zoo, and has loads of enrichment activities that encourage natural behaviors built right into the habitat. The exhibit is also loaded with lush plant-life and is extremely aesthetically pleasing for the visitor.

There are hardly any other exhibits in America that accomplish all that I listed above, and that I think is what separates the Congo Gorilla Forest from nearly all the other exhibits in America.
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Going back to my thread, that's simply not true. Everything you could want would include year round viewing. Otherwise the exhibit is great, although I believe most if not all of the plants are hot wired, which isn't unusual by any means, just saying they shouldn't get too much credit for the plants imo. I really like the education aspect of the exhibit, however, sad to say, based on my experience, I'm guessing many people don't get that much out of it as they don't read much, don't watch the show, and don't vote at the end.
 
mweb08 said:
Going back to my thread, that's simply not true. Everything you could want would include year round viewing. Otherwise the exhibit is great, although I believe most if not all of the plants are hot wired, which isn't unusual by any means, just saying they shouldn't get too much credit for the plants imo. I really like the education aspect of the exhibit, however, sad to say, based on my experience, I'm guessing many people don't get that much out of it as they don't read much, don't watch the show, and don't vote at the end.
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Not all the plants are hot-wired, and for many of the plants that are the roots are just hot-wired so the gorillas can still get to the plants, but keep the plants from being destroyed forever. It's actually better this way, because the gorillas have to figure out clever ways to reach the vegetation. Another added enrichment device built right into the exhibit. Do you not realize that if there were zero hot-wires many of the plants would be destroyed and the gorillas would have no canopy or really anything for that matter. They should get credit for the plants, because without them the illusion of a central African Rain forest is absent! I will not get in another debate about whether the Congo Gorilla Forest is the best exhibit for gorillas. That's pointless, and to many on here I think it's very clear that CGF is best for gorillas. If you want to know more about the exhibit see the zoolex entry here:ZooLex Exhibit

or contact zooplantman or reduakri. They are both experts on the exhibit.
 
BlackRhino said:
Not all the plants are hot-wired, and for many of the plants that are the roots are just hot-wired so the gorillas can still get to the plants, but keep the plants from being destroyed forever. It's actually better this way, because the gorillas have to figure out clever ways to reach the vegetation. Another added enrichment device built right into the exhibit. Do you not realize that if there were zero hot-wires many of the plants would be destroyed and the gorillas would have no canopy or really anything for that matter. They should get credit for the plants, because without them the illusion of a central African Rain forest is absent! I will not get in another debate about whether the Congo Gorilla Forest is the best exhibit for gorillas. That's pointless, and to many on here I think it's very clear that CGF is best for gorillas. If you want to know more about the exhibit see the zoolex entry here:ZooLex Exhibit

or contact zooplantman or reduakri. They are both experts on the exhibit.
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I wasn't talking about the trees, just the plants, so that's not a canopy issue.

Am I saying it's not the best? No.

Are you seriously not going to admit that they don't have everything you could want in an exhibit? Year round viewing is clearly something people would want!

I went to the exhibit yesterday, and listened to a docent zoo employee talk about it. So I'd say I know more about the exhibit than you do.
 
They can still get to the plants and enjoy the vegetation though, so who cares if they are hot-wired or not.
 
BlackRhino said:
They can still get to the plants and enjoy the vegetation though, so who cares if they are hot-wired or not.
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So they can get to them and enjoy them, but not destroy them, interesting. Way to continue to avoid the other point. Look, it can still be the best gorilla exhibit even though it doesn't provide everything someone could want.
 
mweb08 said:
So they can get to them and enjoy them, but not destroy them, interesting. Way to continue to avoid the other point. Look, it can still be the best gorilla exhibit even though it doesn't provide everything someone could want.
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Yep, how can they destroy them if they can't destroy the roots? And no I didn't side-step your other comment. I just thinks that's stupid to factor in how many months the animals is in its outdoor exhibit so I disregarded it. And yes you can see the gorillas in the winter.

Congo Gorilla Forest

It says that you can on that page, so you have been proven wrong. I am done arguing with you.
 
BlackRhino said:
Yep, how can they destroy them if they can't destroy the roots? And no I didn't side-step your other comment. I just thinks that's stupid to factor in how many months the animals is in its outdoor exhibit so I disregarded it. And yes you can see the gorillas in the winter.

Congo Gorilla Forest

It says that you can on that page, so you have been proven wrong. I am done arguing with you.
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That's funny that you're done arguing with me because you have proven me wrong even though you yourself didn't even know that. The indoor thing has been brought up many times, and no one has said you can view them indoors, and I've never seen a pic either. The ZooLex thing doesn't show any evidence of it either. I obviously didn't see an indoor area while there, so it would be interesting to actually see this indoor viewing.

What I was saying was a simple thing, not sure why you're getting all up in arms about it.
 
We've been through this many times, but I'll say it again:

1. Only some of the plantings are hot-wired. A great many are not and the gorillas can do with them as they please.

2. There is winter viewing. In the summer those viewing areas are actually hidden behind movable walls, which is why you didn't see them on your visit. These winter views are of a themed ante-room connected to the huge indoor day rooms. The gorillas move into the viewing area when they feel like it. The viewing area is a gunnite replicated forest area (a fake tree or two, fake fallen trees to climb on, etc.). But it is only a small part of the area they have free access to spring-summer-fall-winter.

Everyone could use less coffee today
 
elefante said:
What does hotwiring mean with plants?
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I'm sure you know this, but perhaps the phrase was unusual to you: they're simply saying that some plantings have electric fencing or "hot grass" to protect the plantings from animals getting in. It rarely works perfectly. Often, animals get between the strands of electric wire and come and go as they wish. Other times they grab plants from above, below, or between the wires to eat and play with.
 
Zooplantman said:
We've been through this many times, but I'll say it again:

1. Only some of the plantings are hot-wired. A great many are not and the gorillas can do with them as they please.

2. There is winter viewing. In the summer those viewing areas are actually hidden behind movable walls, which is why you didn't see them on your visit. These winter views are of a themed ante-room connected to the huge indoor day rooms. The gorillas move into the viewing area when they feel like it. The viewing area is a gunnite replicated forest area (a fake tree or two, fake fallen trees to climb on, etc.). But it is only a small part of the area they have free access to spring-summer-fall-winter.

Everyone could use less coffee today
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Ok, thanks. Not neccessarily directed at you, but are there any pictures of the indoor viewing anywhere?

BTW, I really enjoyed CGF and the rest of the zoo, very well planted as well.
 
Zooplantman said:
There is winter viewing. In the summer those viewing areas are actually hidden behind movable walls, which is why you didn't see them on your visit. These winter views are of a themed ante-room connected to the huge indoor day rooms. The gorillas move into the viewing area when they feel like it. The viewing area is a gunnite replicated forest area (a fake tree or two, fake fallen trees to climb on, etc.). But it is only a small part of the area they have free access to spring-summer-fall-winter.
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And judging from what I've seen, your team didn't get much access to it! Probably the world's most naturalistic indoor gorilla exhibit but it does seem to look a bit . . . grey. Then again, I think protecting plants indoors would be fighting a losing battle, even with the dreaded hot-wire.

Speaking of hot-wire, one of the main objectives of Congo was to immerse visitors in the African rainforest - plants are essential to this and hot-wire is essential to plants. If it was not used, the 'Great Gorilla Forest' would have turned into the 'Average Gorilla Field With Some Trees Providing Shade' which, I think most would agree, is not quite as catchy.

Not to mention its important in terms of welfare, giving the gorillas extra privacy; providing a barrier between visitors and other gorillas. So why keep complaining about this essential element to all the great gorilla exhibits (other than Howletts which is great in a different way), especially as zooplantman has just pointed out that the gorillas are given lots of plants to destroy anyway?
 
One of my personal goals with CGF was to provide the gorillas with a variety of plants that they could destroy, eat, rip up, bend into pretzles ...and which would re-grow.
To create a planted indoor exhibit with such a goal would require a great deal of light and space. At CGF, the indoor space was for animals rather than plants.
 
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