'Palace of the Apes'

I was actually hoping the Aspinal gorillas were going to use this expansivie outdoor area as surely they were expecting them to?

However it seems to be proven time and time again as l know you are aware that gorillas don't like wide open overhead spaces and will consistently chose covered , canopies or such areas every time.

Just a shame typical new gorilla enclosures do not meet ts preference.

I must admit that on the half-dozen or so occasions I've seen that enclosure it has been devoid of any animals save the odd Grey Squirrel.

I think at Port Lympne they bowed to previous public comments about the lack of open outdoor areas and with all the space available, were able to give them huge outdoor meadows- which of course are not used much by the animals. Howletts, because of the location of their Gorilla enclosures, have never been able to add open outdoor paddocks- but it is obviously of little loss for the Gorillas as the covered 'Gorillariums' are actually far more suited to their needs. That's not to say they never go outside at PL, they do, just not very much.

I think nearly all these newer Gorilla enclosures nowadays are designed as much with the public in mind as the animals (though overall Howletts/PL is largely an exception to that), as far as the ratio of open and covered accomodation is concerned. So you have these big, but little-used open spaces.

The only Zoos where you will see a whole group of Gorillas consistently using their outdoor areas is where they are shut out in the daytime. And here you will often find (e.g. with Ya Kwanza at Jersey) the silverback in particular will wait by the door trying to get back in.

Re the Jersey Gorillas. When I was there last summer, the new male Badongo and his three females seemed to spend a lot of time relaxing outside, even when the inside dens were open -- he appears to be a less uptight individual than Ya Kwanza.
Having said that, it would make sense for a silverback who didn't feel secure outside, to want to keep his group indoors as much as possible.

PL's outdoor enclosure has mature trees (hot wired) and plenty of ground cover vegetation. In high summer when this has grown up, the gorillas do forage for natural food - I have seen it particularly after the afternoon scatter feed and I have put a couple of photos of it in this Gallery over the years. This may be one of the factors which make this group potentially suitable for reintroduction.

Alan

Yes, I have seen several photos of this, and seen Djala outside like that also. Its possible the reluctance of some/many Gorillas to spend a lot of time outside is also connected with a lack of incentive if there's nothing to forage for?

I imagine Djala's group was chosen partly because they have access to a large outdoor enclosure, which none of the Howletts groups have, and also Djala's antisocial attitude which means he is less likely to approach people during the rewilding process.