Jersey Zoo restarts work on new multi-million-pound gorilla enclosure following delays

Work has restarted on a new multi-million-pound gorilla house at Jersey Zoo.

It is the second phase of development to create a better home for the site's four gorillas, following delays due to increasing material costs.

The larger enclosure will feature a modern heating and cooling system, eight separate bedroom spaces and training and weighing areas.

Jersey Zoo's Team Leader for Apes, Mark Beresford, says: "For the public, it's going to be a much nicer viewing area and for the gorillas, it's a much nicer area.

"It should also be about four or five times as big on the inside."

Gorillas have been at Jersey Zoo since 1959 and the current gorilla house was built in 1981.

The Government of Jersey's Planning Committee approved plans for the new enclosure almost three years ago, following a £980,000 grant to get construction underway.

It is the largest capital project the zoo has ever carried out with the sale of 40 gorilla sculptures also raising £1,146,500 for the development back in 2019.

The zoo says the new building will bring a lot of improvements, including research balconies and a full CCTV system to monitor the great apes' behaviours.

Curator of Mammals, Ben Matthews, says: "The key features are a deep bark chip floor which will encourage natural foraging behaviour and increase the ambient humidity in the building.

"It's much taller, so we've got a new climbing structure being built inside with over 50 points at the top of the structure to attach ropes and webbing.

"The key message is progress and we're taking all the good stuff we've learnt and not just at Jersey but in the wider zoo community and putting that into practice for what will be a very exciting build."

The cost of the new enclosure has not been disclosed but should be completed by the summer of 2025.

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