A Gorilla Villa  Becomes Reality … A Photo Diary! 08Apr01

 by Jane Dewar

For the past several months, construction has been steadily progressing, despite the fact there was not much to see.   Unlike the construction of the Great Wall of Morganton (done between June and September 2000), where each week we had dramatic photographs to share, photographs of underground utilities, plumbing, electrical or drywall work just isn’t as exciting, even though all those steps are equally important to the overall success of our project.

The four villas will be located around the 8.5 acre habitat of Phase 1.  Each villa will have 2 indoor and 2 outdoor cages, large enough to house 2 unrelated silverbacks.  Using panels we can either let the gorillas see and/or have access to each other, or they can live side by side without seeing the other one, depending on their needs.  Villas are designed to be quarantine units as well as facilities for emergency medical treatments, if needed, in addition to our veterinary clinic which is also being constructed at this time.

The indoor cages will have a steel building covering them, heated and air conditioned to keep temperatures comfortable according to federal and zoo standards. Access to the adjoining outdoor cages could be allowed 24 hours a day, giving the gorillas freedom to choose where they want to be.  Access to the 8.5 acre habitat for the first gorilla resident/s will be unavailable for another few months, as we work on sealing it off properly and finish the prep-work of the habitat itself.  Still, even being confined to the villa should be more than comfortable for any gorilla – some gorilla keepers have even expressed an interest in staying in a villa!

The tops of both the inside and outside cages will have open mesh and a walkway, where keepers can toss foods, encouraging the gorillas to climb up (and exercise!) to get some of their favorite treats, a philosophy borrowed from Howletts and used at some US zoos.  On top of one side of the outdoor cages will be a Research Tower, where researchers can observe the gorillas in the habitat (with translucent floor panels to view gorillas below them unobtrusively too).  Long steel overhangs will make sure a gorilla can’t climb up or out of a villa from the habitat.

David Stites and his crew at SEMCO, a Blue Ridge, GA company, have begun installation of the steel cage work of Silverback villa, so once again we have photos we can share which show why we’re all so thrilled and excited!  Once David’s crew finishes installing the cages, Chad Bowers’ crew will erect the steel building over the inside cages, and then we’re on our way to the finishing touches (sealing the concrete, installing the squeeze cage and keeper facilities, etc).  If all goes well, we’ll be ready for inspections and our first gorilla resident by the end of the summer!

 Here’s a small photo diary of a week in the construction of Silverback Villa:

	August 2000. Here’s the outside cage area of Silverback villa just before the cement pad and knee walls are poured.
	Saturday 31Mar01.  Steel arrives and is laid out approximately where it will be installed on top of the pad and the 2' high concrete knee walls.
	Monday morning 02Apr01: A huge crane lifts the pre-constructed, galvanized steel panels into place.
	Monday afternoon 02Apr01:  Pete Halliday, David Stites and Jane Dewar look at half the outside cage, erected in one day!
	Wednesday 04Apr01:  The crane moves more panels into place.  This photo, taken from higher up on Silverback Ridge, shows the outside cage work to the right (inside the 8.5 acre habitat) and the inside cages on the left.
	Thursday 05Apr01: After Tuesday April 3rd  was rained out, SEMCO’s crew made up for lost time finishing the 2nd half of the outside cages by Thursday.  Steuart and Jane Dewar pose with princess puppy Soakie.
	Friday 06APr01.  The inside cages are put into place.  A steel master building will be installed over these cages, with a large service corridor in front of the cages and a squeeze cage between them.  The brachiating bars (seen here still on the floor!) will be raised to their proper level next week.
	This is what our first gorilla’s view will be of the inside of his outdoor cage, including tall brachiating bars (the cage itself is 18' high), with plenty of room for hammocks, ledges and climbing structures to be added later.  (Scaffolding behind the central support tower will come out, of course!).
	This is what our first gorilla’s view will be like, as he sits in one of the 2 outdoor cages, looking South East.
	Here Steuart pretends he’s a silverback, asking to get access to the larger 8.5 acre habitat!
	When our first gorilla looks to the North from the top of the outside cage, this will be his view, towards Bonz’ villa with Paris Mountain above.

Steuart stitched several photographs together to create these two panoramic views of the 8.5 acre Phase 1 habitat. The top panorama was taken by Steuart, hoisted some 65' into the air from a boom truck, while the bottom panorama was taken standing on Frank’s Knob.  The wall opening in the foreground (bottom) will be where the Keeper Kennel will be – a large, walk-in cage where keepers and/or researchers can enter the gorilla habitat and remain in the cage, as the gorillas wander freely around them. In the top panorama, the hay barn is shown bottom right with the machine room for the phase 2 group building (left) and the 2 story Keeper/Researcher building in the foreground. Follow the wall up and to the right from the Keeper/Researcher building and you can see Silverback Villa's cage.