Please can people tell me of any zoos that use one way glass for Gorilla exhibits and any web sites on the pros and cons of using one way glass. All info very welcome! Thank you.
welcome Andrea, its good to have some input from people in different parts of the world. there might be some US zoos with one way glass?.
I can't think of any zoo that uses one-way glass, but a possible pro i can think of is that the gorillas will feel less stress from being stared at or teased. On the other hand, allowing the gorillas to look at the visitors could be a form of enrichment since they are naturally curious animals.
i can't think of any, but i have often wondered why one-way glass isn't more common in zoos. melbourne has a silverback gorilla who hates being starred at and has to be kept in a separate enclosure with a bamboo screen. the rest of the melbourne troop have large areas of exhibit space where they can get well out of public view, but often are happy to sit near the glass viewing areas and sometimes the younger gorillas have a great time hitting the glass as they run past to get a reaction! at taronga the gorillas don't have much space to get away from the public and i have observed behaviours there that i translate as frustration with the matter. in the case of gorillas, i think provide them with their own spaces to retreat and the need for one way glass becomes somewhat defunct. however in exhibits where it is not possible, or for other species, one way glass could be a real advantage...
Actually yes, plenty! haha. Would love to send some over to ya but i'm not in charge of the animals though, i work at another department at Singapore zoo.
oh well, I guess we get some here soon enough, What part of singapore zoo do you work ?, I heard that Singapore zoo is helping with the designs in Steve Irwins Australia zoo?.
i'm with operations and education, basically taking care of the human visitors. I'm not sure about designing Australia zoo, but steve irwin signed an mou with Singapore for animal exchange. He was just here a couple of weeks ago to open our new Oz exhibit. His zoo provided some roos and reptiles for the exhibit, in return singapore made a donation to his conservation fund. We also provided him with training on primate and elephant handling/management.
can you find out what animals might be comong down here to Australia zoo as i live not far from there? thanks
patrick, this bloke is behind the bamboo cause he is needed to be kept from public, a small boy through a rock at him so hed move and well he picked it up and it hit the boy cold right between the eyes
possibly orangs i guess, there was mention that steve intended to get some. Singapore's orangs are habituated to humans and that's something steve would want since he's all for close contact and stuff. I'll see if i can find out more.
