Villas and A Boathouse
... 14 May 2001
by
Jane Dewar
The
first villa, Silverback Villa, is coming along nicely, as the steelwork is up,
with final touches like doors, slam-latches, locks, etc. being made. We
decided to use a thick, waterproof, easily cleaned floor surface over the
concrete, called STONHARD, which was more expensive than painted concrete or
tile, but many zoos use the surface which lasts for years, and thus we thought
it was worth the extra money. Silverback and Bonz villas have had the
STONHARD flooring installed (photo right shows Bonz Villa - the second villa
under construction), and at the moment the steel building which will enclose
the inside cages of Silverback villa is being completed (photo left).
While no specific gorillas are
officially slated to come to GH at this point in time, interest from zoos is
high and if we had Phase 1 built by now, we have no doubt we’d be full. But we’re in no hurry and are building
things to the highest standards, which takes time – still we’re aiming at
the Fall to be ready for our first resident/s.
From May 1st to the 11th we
had 3 keepers from Holland’s Apenheul Zoo visit us, including our old
friends Leo Hulsker (GH Advisory Board member) and Ria Bakker, who are
orangutan and bonobo keepers, respectively (and both former gorilla keepers). They brought Ronald van der
Beek with them, who’s a gorilla keeper, with a family group of 18 animals
– making it one of the (if not the) largest gorilla groups in captivity.
Besides Howletts, we think Apenheul is the best place for captive gorillas,
based on their excellent keeping staff and philosophy to give the gorillas as
much respect and freedom as captivity allows.
Leo and Ria were here 18 months earlier and were
amazed to see how much progress had been made; Ronald had been looking
at our website and hearing about our progress, but still he wasn’t prepared
for the habitat to be as large and the facilities to be as well-planned and
thought-out as they are, so it was great fun watching them walk around the
property and talking about gorillas.
While Steuart and Pete stayed at GH working on the facility, I drove our
guests to Zoo Atlanta, Jacksonville Zoo and the Georgia Language Research
Center, where we met ape-linguists, including bonobo KANZI and chimpanzees
SHERMAN and LANA.
Since the Apenheul keepers were
staying so long at GH, as a joke I told them they’d have to work for their
upkeep, agreeing to feed them well and spoil them in return for a boathouse
for the Gorilla Flotilla (photo left shows Ria and Ronald in the Flotilla). Some would call the Flotilla just a paddleboat
on Lake Bwindi, but for us, it’s a wonderful source of relaxation and
practicality, since Lake Bwindi serves not only as a home for Fish and his
Wandas, zillions of “Jeremiahs” (bullfrogs) and water snakes, but it’s
also an emergency source of water for fire fighting, equipped with a dry
hydrant. Since it’s spring fed, the overflow valves have to be checked
from time to time and thus the Flotilla is a nice way to maintain things while
enjoying the beauty of the area too. But we seldom used the Flotilla,
since whenever it rained, it filled with water, making it a big hassle to
clean it out before using it. That’s where the idea of the boathouse
came in.
Well,
much to my delight and surprise, not only did Leo, Ronald and Ria make the
most wonderful boathouse I could have imagined, it fits in so well, it looks
as if it’s always been there! After it rained a few days ago, Steuart was able to take the Flotilla out by himself, and enjoy the
lake, since the boat was nice and dry in its new house! And since I was
being so obnoxious when they were building the boathouse, asking where the
jacuzzi was going, etc., I’d asked for a drawbridge too, to get from one
mini-dock to the other. When I thought the boathouse had been completed,
I noticed them out working on something, and sure enough, I got a drawbridge
too - I guess I'll have to wait for their next visit for the jacuzzi
. As if that weren’t enough, Ria’s artistic talents are now
displayed in the wood burnings she made of the GH logo, the Apenheul logo and
an image of Willie B. I can’t imagine a more wonderful gift from them
all – Dank U
Wel, hoor!
Update:
Ronnie has produced a
delightful account of their construction efforts which is guaranteed to
bring a smile to all who read it!
The
first villa, Silverback Villa, is coming along nicely, as the steelwork is up,
with final touches like doors, slam-latches, locks, etc. being made. We
decided to use a thick, waterproof, easily cleaned floor surface over the
concrete, called STONHARD, which was more expensive than painted concrete or
tile, but many zoos use the surface which lasts for years, and thus we thought
it was worth the extra money. Silverback and Bonz villas have had the
STONHARD flooring installed (photo right shows Bonz Villa - the second villa
under construction), and at the moment the steel building which will enclose
the inside cages of Silverback villa is being completed (photo left). 
