Werribee Open Range Zoo Gorilla Exhibit Opened

J

Jabiru96

Well-Known Member
The gorilla exhibit exhibit has opened at WORZ. I heard that it is 600m squared and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

Here is the only link that I could find on the opening (it was featured on the news) and shows a view into the exhibit.

Gorillas go ape over new enclosure - Entertainment (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

I understand that it is way better than the Melbourne grottoes that the boys have been living in for a few years now, but I still prefer the smaller but more lush Melbourne exhibit.
 
From the looks of things they have now officially ruined the center of the old savanna walking path at Werribee. The great care taken in the past to obscure barriers and create natural vistas have been ignored in favor of the utilitarian fencing first seen in the wild dog exhibit, now taken to greater extremes by the gorilla containment barriers. And whatever coherence the "savanna" park once had is now lost.
 
The notion that anybody could ever imagine themselves actually in an authentic Africa at Werribee was always nonsense. If the wind is blowing from the north you can hear the freeway. It's underneath a major approach to Melbourne Airport. The idea that WORZ was ever a truly "immersive" zoo is a fantasy.
 
reduakari said:
Looking at this image, it seems there is really only one place to closely view the exhibit (the small glass box on the right). Other than that, views seem to be very distant over a water body AND a deep dry moat. That's one way to hide big obtrusive barrier walls--don't provide any viewing areas!

New Gorilla enclosure | Big move for gorillas | Herald Sun
Click to expand...

That is a great overhead photo! Anyway, I am always amused when I read about an Aussie zoo exhibit being the "biggest in the southern hemisphere" as there really is not a lot of competition. Now this is the biggest gorilla exhibit, Taronga has the largest seal/penguin complex (Great Southern Oceans) and Alice Springs Desert Park has the biggest nocturnal house in the southern hemisphere. There really aren't that many top-notch zoos in either South America or southern Africa to compete with the handful of notable institutions in the Oceania region.
 
Jabiru96 said:
I have read a few articles that say 600m squared and others that say 6000m squared, but I will go along with this article and say that it is 6000m squared.
Click to expand...

Yes, for some reason the Fairfax press are saying 600 but when you look at the aerial pics it has to be 6000.

The new Baboon area at Melbourne is not quite 2000 square metres and the Gorillas at Werribee is way bigger than that.
 
reduakari said:
Looking at this image, it seems there is really only one place to closely view the exhibit (the small glass box on the right). Other than that, views seem to be very distant over a water body AND a deep dry moat. That's one way to hide big obtrusive barrier walls--don't provide any viewing areas!
Click to expand...

It looks good for the Gorillas (the most important thing), but I feel sorry for visitors trying to see them, as they are denied access if the Gorillas are anywhere in the enclosure apart from near the glass box viewing area, otherwise they will just be black dots in the distance.

This seems a larger copy of Melbourne's main enclosure which has similar limited viewing points for the public though I believe additional vantage points have been added to overcome the problem of access.

Some modern 'island' Gorilla exhibits in the Northern hemisphere follow this style too- but I much prefer closer viewing with a perimeter path at least most of the way around the enclosure, to give a much better chance of seeing the Apes properly.
 
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