Toledo Zoo - Gorilla Exhibit

July 2008. A large meadow with not enough climbing structures or shade.

This enclosure is perhaps better suited for hoofstock, and like the Pittsburgh Zoo and other establishments Toledo has been content to showcase its large gorilla family in what is basically a spacious field.

This actually looks like a great exhibit with all the shade and tall trees, but it still needs a large climbing structure.

Oh good, it's not just me that can see the trees and the shade there. I thought I was going crazy.

I think it is OK but it wouldn't be that hard to put in a climbing structure or two and a few plants that gorillas don't like the taste of to "rainforest" it up a bit.

There is no plant that a gorilla will not destroy if he or she feels like it. Taste is not a factor.

I thought this was a nice gorilla exhibit. They were all engaged inforaging and play-fights when I visited. Again, its always good to see natural behavior. If it were really that bad the gorillas would be passed out or leaning against the wall.

It would benefit from some more artificial landscaping, vegetation and cover etc (bamboo is an excellent fastgrowing dense and tough cover plant), but there are plenty of open exhibits worse than this.

I think that I've been a little harsh on this exhibit, but I'm convinced that the photo shows it in a better light. There is indeed shade but I'm not sure if the field has a single climbing structure and to the left of this photo it is mainly grass with a few tiny shrubs. However, it is much better than most and the Toledo Zoo has some decent ape exhibits for their chimps, orangs and gorillas and so I should perhaps be a little more supportive of the enclosure. I suppose that based on the fact that it is around ten years old and cost millions of dollars then maybe I was expecting more than what is on offer.

I loved Toledo's Ape Complex. I mean its no Regenstein Center for African Apes, but it is nice exhibits for the apes. The chimp and orang exhibits have tons of vertical space and the gorilla exhibit has tons of shade for cover and logs for enrichment. The gorillas also show natural behaviors.