 LOCATION:
650 South R.L. Thornton Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75203
Phone: 01-214-670 6826
Fax: 214-670-7450
URL: http://www.DallasZoo.com
 KEY WORDS:
Africa, holding facilities, multiple groups, natural behavior, research
 ANIMALS:
| Family: | Species: | Common Name: | Capacity: |
| Pongidae | Gorilla gorilla | Western Lowland Gorilla | 4.3 |
 AWARDS:
1992 Significant Achievement Award from American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (now American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA)
 DESCRIPTION:
The exhibit is a two-acre (0.82 hectare) reserve within the Dallas Zoo's 25-acre (10.25 hectares) "Wilds of Africa" complex designed to allow the lowland gorillas to roam freely in an environment that replicates as closely as possible their native equatorial forest habitat. The mild climate of Dallas allows the animals to be exhibited outdoors year-round. All space was used for large outdoor exhibits, rather than additional indoor exhibits. Off-exhibit indoor facilities were made for night holding. Every effort was made to create a space that would encourage the animals to behave as they would in a wild environment. To ensure as natural a habitat as possible, the Field Research Station building was designed to minimize the gorillas' interactions with humans and promote their interactions with each other.
The outdoor section includes two areas, separated by a wall, which provide enough room for two troops of animals. Currently the North habitat houses one male and one female. The South habitat houses three males (one silverback and two juveniles) and two females. If needed in the future, a small portal within the wall can allow juveniles and/or adult females to "migrate" to the other troop.
 SIZE:
Overall exhibit area covers two acres (.82 hectare). The indoor section is off-exhibit and is an airy, light-filled space covering almost 8,000 square feet (720 m2). Two large community rooms provide an area for animals to socialize as they would outdoors. The outdoor exhibit consists of two naturalistic habitats, approximately 1,022 and 1,395 square meters respectively. The 555.7 square meter holding building contains 223 square meters of floor space for two troops of gorillas. Each troop area includes two smaller holding rooms (4.6m x 9.1m x 7m h). Space allocation in square meters:
| use | indoors | outdoors | total exhibit |
| accessible | total | accessible | total |
| animals | 223 | 223 | | 2,417 | 2,640 |
| visitors | 0 | 0 | | | |
| others | | 332.7 | | | |
| total | | 555.7 | | | 8,200 |
 COSTS:
USD 3,700,000 including -1 % for design.
 OPENING DATE:
1990
 DESIGN:
Beginning: 1987
- Architecture: F&S Partners, Dallas, Texas, USA
- Landscape Architecture: Jones & Jones Architects, Seattle, Washington, USA
 CONSTRUCTION:
Beginning: 1989
 LOCAL CONDITIONS:
 PLANTS:
Among the more than 5,000 plants of 60 species in the exhibit are a variety of “browse plants,” such as blackberry bushes, herbs, and grapevines, which allow the gorillas to forage as they would in the wild. All plant material is edible and available to the gorillas as forage. The plant list specifies the Latin names of the plants used for this exhibit.
 FEATURES DEDICATED TO ANIMALS:
The indoor areas for the gorillas include two large community rooms covered in natural substrate, four bedrooms with nesting structures, benches and hay for sleeping. Interior features include skylights, natural log climbing structures, cargo nets, pole nesters, sand substrate in community rooms, and planters surrounding the community rooms. The animals can move from room to room through overhead transfer corridors. Outdoors, there are waterways for splashing and drinking and heated rocks to provide warmth on cold winter days. Fog nozzles help simulate the humid, misty atmosphere of a rainforest.
 FEATURES DEDICATED TO KEEPERS:
Overhead transfer system with polycarbonate hydraulic doors (using vegetable oil, so as to be non-toxic to animals if it ever leaks) allows staff to transfer the gorillas to any location within the building or the habitats. Kitchen, observation area, offices, clinical operating room, laundry room, locker area, and restroom complete the working areas of the holding building.
 FEATURES DEDICATED TO VISITORS:
A special below-grade viewing bunker, observation platforms and camouflaged viewing blinds allow Zoo visitors to watch the gorillas without disturbing them.
 INTERPRETATION:
Interpretative signs are located at the viewing areas while the Field Research Station provides visitors the opportunity to interact with zoo docents and displays a wide variety of information about gorillas and their habitats. There are also interactive games here to engage children.
 MANAGEMENT:
 RESEARCH:
The Field Research Station provides optimum research space for the study of this endangered species. A thatch-roofed building was created to resemble an actual research station in the wild. It houses modern electronic equipment, including video screens and parabolic sound reflectors, and allows researchers to document data on gorilla behavior in thorough, non-intrusive ways not possible in the wild.
 CONSERVATION:
 LOCAL RESOURCES:
|
 |
| 46K | 49K |
| Gorilla (0) |
| ©Dallas Zoo, 2002 |
 |
| 47K | 97K |
| Plan of Night Holding Facilities (22) |
| ©Dallas Zoo, 1998 |
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