Gorilla enclosure, April 2013

A shelter just outside the house. What a good idea.

It's not very clear on here, but when I was looking at the photo on my computer, I wondered why they had a sign saying XIMUJ on the wall. The joy of reflections!

This is new since I last went. Not sure where it is exactly- does it cover the area of the concrete 'apron' in front of the house?. It may be an attempt to provide them more cover without letting them inside in the daytime- or are they allowed free access indoors nowadays?(they never used to be)

Yes, it's close to the house. During my visits to the gorillas on the 3 days I was there, the house was open so they could come and go. I thought maybe it was for when the house is being cleaned and the weather's bad, or just cover for them when they want it. Badongo was sitting on the narrow path between it and the house when I took this photo.

I can't figure out exactly where this is or quite how this works- I presume its built onto the wall of the house in front of the(Gorilla)access doors? How do they stop them climbing on it and getting out?

I can't see Badongo in the photo.

I think letting them have daytime access indoors is quite recent- they never used to, they were either shut out if the weather ws good, or shut in if the weather was bad. Or it could have just been because of Bahasha's recent loss of the baby?

I was going to use the Google map that's on this site to explain it, but there's a cloud right over the gorilla house!

Anyway, this shelter isn't attached to the house. I took this photo from the right hand side of the house, as you look down across the enclosure. So the house is to the left of the photo, there's a narrow path along the front of the house (Badongo wasn't in view from my position) then this building. The open side of it faces the house.

You could be right about special treatment at the moment. My Animal Encounter was originally to be with the orangs, but was changed to gorillas when Anette gave birth. Bahasha's baby's death, and the need to give the gorillas space, meant that it changed back to orangs.

Ah, I see now. Its a free standing shelter, a sort of upmarket version of Pertinax' shelter at Paignton before it fell down. I originally thought it was attatched to the house somehow, now I see that it isn't and is partly supported by treetrunks. It probably acts as a windbreak as well.

More than that... it has underfloor heating and an infrared panel. Badongo likes having cover, and it gives him somewhere to hang around when the dens are being cleaned and the girls are staying clear of him.

How thoughtful! I like a zoo that caters for an individual animal's needs.

Can you tell me- do the Gorillas at Jersey nowadays have daytime access to the indoor house- apart from at cleaning times etc?

Apart from cleaning and individual training - or, if there is work needed on the enclosure - the gorillas have free access to either inside or outside during park opening times. It's up to them. The shelter is just an added 'home comfort', as are the recessed outdoor 'nest' areas that no-one has spotted yet! We give them a lot of opportunity to get off-display too. Interestingly, knowing that they can get out of the public gaze at will seems to make them less prone to hiding away, not more so! As many options as we can offer them is the way we try and work.