Best Gorilla Exhibit in UK???

E

emmajuk

Member
Hi Guys

I have always loved Gorillas and fell totally in love with them at Loro Parque then again at Berlin Zoo last week - totally in love with Ivo there he is fab!!

Where is the best place to visit the Gorillas in the UK??

I WISH chester had them :(
 
thanks Jerseygorilla :)

I loved the enclosure at Berlin for them they seemed pretty happy except Ivo he seemed in a major grump!!
 
Howletts or Port Lympne undoubtedly -nowhere else comes close.

You get to see large active family groups in great (for them) environments.

If you like Gorillas it's very easy to lose an hour or so watching them.
 
thanks guys and girls
i drove my husband mad at Berlin zoo i stayed by their enclosure for 40 minutes ;)

I just found we have them at Blackpool zoo which is very near by
 
emmajuk said:
thanks guys and girls
i drove my husband mad at Berlin zoo i stayed by their enclosure for 40 minutes ;)

I just found we have them at Blackpool zoo which is very near by
Click to expand...

There is also a baby at Blackpool, about 9 months old I think.
 
You will enjoy Blackpool, I'm sure.
But no gorilla fanatic can resist the pull of Howletts and Port Lympne. There are more gorillas to see at Howletts, particularly if you want to see the babies in the 3 breeding groups. But I think that Port Lympne is better for gorilla watching. I recommend that you check the times of the scatter feeds at the entrance. I try to watch Djala's group at their morning feed (checking out the drills, gentle lemurs and sifakas while I'm waiting) and then the batchelor males in the afternoon - but the main group of batchelors is due to move to Holland soon, so I'm not sure what I'll do when they are gone.

Alan
 
I liked Bristol too, yet make it to H & PL.

I fell in love with the gorillas at Jersey in Jambo's day but visits to Twycross & Paignton didn't have the same magic.
 
I don't think any single UK Gorilla exhibit outshines all the others in all respects. I would rate them in three different categories as follows;

Socially active/natural group behaviour- Howletts wins hands down, plus also the Djala group at PL. (Djala group is probably overall best as they also have more space/outdoors).

Best Viewing/attractivess of enclosure design from visitor p.o.v.- London. Bristol also but the areas for viewing outdoors have been somewhat reduced.

Photography- Twycross- not my favourite enclosures but outsides have always been very good for this purpose.
 
There is a variety of places to see them:
Blackpool-9th baby Meisie
Aspinall Parks-alot of Gorillas!
Twycross-Never been but sure its great
Paignton-Batchellor group nice island enclosure
London-5 month old male baby
Longleat-Also have a lone male Nico and plan on setting up a new group of Gorillas(all Males)
Hope this helps:)
 
I don't know the current plans but i do know they are to bring in a young bachelor group they may be on an island enclosure not a hundred pecent sure though.
 
It says in their statement that new young Gorillas will be arriving and indicates they will be living on an island- but not with Nico. There is (or was) a manmade island on the shore of the lake around the Hippo area, which was once used for chimps so possibly it will be there. Or they might build another one.

It doesn't say it will definately be an all male group- but that does seem the most likely scenario..

Nico is solitary because they can't really access any suitable others to mix with him at his advanced age- he has only ever lived with one female(samba) in the past. When introduced to a different female during a short stay at Bristol Zoo some years ago, he proved very aggressive and it was a failure.
 
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I think it was either late this year or next year, from what I remember reading.
 
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