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Exciting updates in Gorilla Habitat 4

If you’ve been to the Zoo recently and visited our gorilla habitats, you may have noticed that Habitat 4 has been empty of gorillas.  Instead, you might see members of our amazing Facilities Team along with a random assortment of construction tools and materials. This is because both Habitats 3 and 4 will be getting specially designed structures added.  These structures will have multiple platforms at varying heights, attachment points for various enrichment items, as well as hammocks and artificial vines for climbing.  These structures will serve several purposes for Willie B. Jr. and his troop, providing new areas to rest, shaded areas from the sun and protection from rain, and a variety of opportunities for different behaviors such as climbing, jumping, swinging, balancing, and playing.

All these behaviors are important for gorillas of all ages but especially for young gorillas like Willie B. III.  Habitat 4 currently doesn’t have a lot of options for places that allow him to learn skills that are necessary for him to thrive as a growing gorilla.  Once young gorillas start to spend more and more time away from their mothers, a good majority of that time is spent playing and exploring.  These structures will provide a huge variety of opportunities for him to learn not only what he is capable of but maybe also things that he isn’t quite capable of yet. For the first year of his life, he spent a lot of that time on his mother’s back or very close by, so he has only recently started to hone his motor skills. Soon enough he will be running around, climbing, swinging, and causing trouble just like his next-door neighbor, Floyd. 

As I mentioned, Habitat 3 will also eventually get some of these platforms as well. Habitat 3 generally houses our large family group of nine individuals.  And while they do have a few things in their habitat to climb on, these new structures will provide a lot more options for such a large group.  These structures will also have platforms at varying heights which will allow us to use some of the vertical space available that is currently mostly unused. 

As an animal care professional, these types of additions to existing habitats are an exciting change.  We expect to see a lot of different behaviors from both gorilla groups, as well as ways they may utilize them that we didn’t originally think of.  Although the construction of these platforms will take a bit of time to complete, we all think it will be totally worth the wait and we hope you will agree!

Cassie M.
Senior Keeper, Gorillas

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