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Houston Zoo goes bananas for $29M gorilla exhibitHouston Zoo goes bananas for $29M gorilla exhibithttps://www.recenter.tamu.edu/news/newstalk-texas/?Item=35392014-07-24T15:18:00Z2014-07-24T00:00:00Z

HOUSTON - Construction of the $29 million “Gorillas of the African Forest” exhibit at the Houston Zoo is more than halfway done. The two acres will soon be home to ten gorillas.

The exhibit will give the experience of being right in the middle of an African forest. There will be walking paths and a platform overlooking the thick green vegetation. The gorillas will have "bedrooms" that are separate from their social area.

"We will have Western Lowland gorillas. The males will be 500 pounds. The females are smaller. They are about 250 each," said Beth Schaefer, the Curator of Primates and Carnivores at the Houston Zoo.

"You'll be about 15 feet above where the gorillas are. They can't jump that high, so you'll be just looking out at them without any walls. Without anything between you and the gorillas," said Deborah Cannon, the CEO and President of the Houston Zoo.

Guests will get a unique opportunity for special events. "We will have some feeding tubes to feed grapes to the gorillas and be right there with a window in between," said Cannon. The exhibit will open next spring.

KHOU-TV
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land
Public Facilities
http://www.khou.com/entertainment/Construction-of-gorilla-exhibit-at-Houston-Zoo-makes-progress-268342762.htmlRead more at {Source}

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