Gorilla enclosure at Basel Zoo 30/08/09

Like so many central European zoos, the monkey/ape house is the least impressive of the zoo\'s houses. With the exception of a nice outdoor island for the woolly and squirrel monkeys, the outside enclosures are clearly afterthoughts (two small cages between three great ape species and unviewable cages for the monkeys on the roof). Shame, because the rest of the zoo is almost uniformly superb.

This house seems hardly to have changed since I visited it in 1972 and 1973. Here is my old photo of Stefi on the shelf at the back of this exhibit.



Alan

And there is even a similar looking Gorilla living in it...the adult female Faddama, who is Stephi's granddaughter(mother Quarta) looks virtually identical to him.

Compared to the original cages in the old Bird House- where Basel's first several Gorillas were born, this House was thought very modern when it first opened, despite the complete lack of any outdoor cages. Small outdoor cages were added later. In recent years the indoor areas have begun to look rather cramped and small. The zoo must have recognised this too as they are soon to be extended by opening the areas up to the rear of the indoor enclosures, and new large outdoor cages are finally being constructed too.