Gorilla Haven – The
Earth Moves!
25 November 1999 - Update by
Jane Dewar
Although we started clearing old logging
roads and removing some trees in May 1999, it’s only
been recently that we’ve been able to see Phase I of
the GH project start to materialize, as shown in this
aerial photograph taken on 17Nov99. Our neighbor and
friend, Jim McClusky, took us up in his private airplane
so we could see our 275 acres, but specifically what
we’re calling Phase I. Thanks Jim! Our guests at the
time included gorillaphiles extraordinaire, Ken and Irene Wenlock, from
Wolverhampton, England (near Birmingham).
They’ve been studying gorillas in zoos for almost 40
years and their knowledge of gorillas is mind-boggling.
We’ve started discussions about combining the
photos, letters, paraphernalia and gorilla goodies
we’ve all gathered over the years and one day making
our cabin a Gorilla Museum. But since GH is not
going to be opened to the public, this museum would be
for students or researchers or by invitation only. At the
moment, it’s just a dream, but then again, GH was
just a dream a few years ago, so anything’s
possible! It was Ken’s 60th birthday, so
the plane ride was our gift to him, with ulterior motives
for us to get some good shots of Phase I too, so it
worked out great for everyone!
The photo covers less than half of
the 275 acre Gorilla Haven property, focusing on
the central area where the initial phase will be. Below
the ridge of the mountain at the top left are 2 circular
paths (Phase I). It looks rather raw at the moment,
but we have an intensive hydro seeding and tree planting
plan we’ll implement in the spring, so not much of
this will be visible in the future, even from the air.
Our cabin, the gatehouse, barns and "lawn" are
just below the facility at the bottom.
The outer ring is the perimeter
fence road, or Tebe’s Trail (named after a dear
ol’ gorilla at Howletts), which will have a 12 foot
high electric, security fence, designed to keep
trespassers out. It will also serve as a secondary
containment area, although the gorillas would probably
have to sprout wings to get out of the main walled
enclosure! We’re going a bit extreme on precautions
primarily to keep people out, since keeping
gorillas inside is the easy part! The road will enable us
to patrol the area, including the use of video and other
surveillance techniques, even though anyone on or near
the perimeter fence will have already trespassed over a 4
strand barbed wire fence around the boundary of the 275
acres, ignored the 100 or so "Criminal
Trespass" signs, and hiked a long way to get this
far. While support for GH locally has been wonderful, we
don’t want to take any chances where the gorillas
are concerned, so we’re going overboard – more
so than many zoos we’ve visited! – just to be
on the safe side.
The inner ring is the gorilla
habitat, which is now just over 7 acres. Four
"villas" will be built around the top of the
circle, with a Group Building (Phase II) and the Keeper/
Researcher building at the bottom. The gorilla
"villas" are designed to hold 2 silverbacks
separately as permanent housing or quarantine facilities,
and contain both indoor and outdoor cages, so the
gorillas can decide to be in or outside 24 hours a day.
Each villa then opens up to the 7 acre habitat, which we
can divide up as needed by hotwire. Surrounding the 7
acres will be a 14 foot high concrete or steel wall
– a major expense, but worth it to protect the
gorillas.
We’re leaving as many trees as
practical and possible, but the area of Phase I, as
terraced farmland from about 40 years ago, has mostly
pine trees, which are brittle and not gorilla-proof.
Therefore, many of those will come down, being
replaced by other more sturdy trees and plants gorillas
prefer for browse. We’ll hotwire off a row of trees
in the center, to provide shade for the gorillas. These
are also far enough away from the wall, so if one should
fall down, there can be no chance of a gorilla climbing
out.
We’re keeping the federal and
zoo agencies informed of our progress and so far no red
flags have been raised. Indeed, just the opposite.
Everyone who has seen the plans and visited GH walks away
amazed at how thorough we’ve been, thinking of
details they hadn’t even imagined. Things change
constantly, it seems, but with each change comes
improvements and refinements, so it’s a fun process
to be involved with. Unlike zoos and other organizations
who hire expensive designers, architects, engineers,
surveyors, etc. which add to the cost of the facility,
we’re doing a lot of the design work ourselves,
getting engineers and architects to then review and sign
off on our work, saving a bundle. Steuart’s even
taking up surveying with his
"being-the-best-as-he-can-be" attitude, so when
professional surveyors come here, they just check his
work and verify everything’s been done properly! In
surveying over 60 acres, Steuart "complained"
he was off by almost 2 feet …!!!!!
We continue to hear from people
from literally around the world, cheering us on or
thanking us for our commitment to helping gorillas and
sharing our enthusiasm and love for them on our website.
On Saturday, we celebrated Thanksgiving early, with the
Wenlocks and Jim and Linda Davis, gorillaphiles
extraordinaire from Shiloh, North Carolina. Our Project
Manger, Pete Halliday and his friend also joined us. The
Wenlocks and Pete never had a thanksgiving meal, so I
went all out. Before eating, we held hands around the
table and each said what we were most thankful for…
Unanimously we agreed we were thankful for each other,
our family and friends, good health, an amazing life and
most of all we were thankful to gorillas, who brought us
together and who have enriched our lives in innumerable
ways.
A quote from the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution’s Sunday paper (21Nov99, page
1, section C) sums it up the best. Atlanta’s gone
berserk with the arrival of Yang Yang and Lun Lun, two
adorable pandas from China, on loan to Zoo Atlanta for
the next ten years. We made sure we visited Willie B. and
Atlanta’s gorillas before Saturday, when the pandas
made their public debut, since crowds of up to 15,000
were expected on opening day. Less than half that amount
showed up and everyone who visited was thrilled with the
pandas, who rival gorillas as the most popular zoo
attraction. Yet one visitor, was quoted as saying: "
I don’t want to start an international incident
…The pandas were cute, but Willie B. will always be
the king."
I couldn’t have said it better
myself!! :)
Although we started clearing old logging
roads and removing some trees in May 1999, it’s only
been recently that we’ve been able to see Phase I of
the GH project start to materialize, as shown in this
aerial photograph taken on 17Nov99. Our neighbor and
friend, Jim McClusky, took us up in his private airplane
so we could see our 275 acres, but specifically what
we’re calling Phase I. Thanks Jim! Our guests at the
time included gorillaphiles extraordinaire, Ken and Irene Wenlock, from
Wolverhampton, England (near Birmingham).
They’ve been studying gorillas in zoos for almost 40
years and their knowledge of gorillas is mind-boggling.
We’ve started discussions about combining the
photos, letters, paraphernalia and gorilla goodies
we’ve all gathered over the years and one day making
our cabin a Gorilla Museum. But since GH is not
going to be opened to the public, this museum would be
for students or researchers or by invitation only. At the
moment, it’s just a dream, but then again, GH was
just a dream a few years ago, so anything’s
possible! It was Ken’s 60th birthday, so
the plane ride was our gift to him, with ulterior motives
for us to get some good shots of Phase I too, so it
worked out great for everyone!