‘Borgori-Wald’ - The new ape facility at Frankfurt Zoo , Germany C. Knott, Head Keeper Great Apes Zoo Frankfurt Frankfurt , Germany ‘Borgori’ is an artificial word composed of the names of the three different species of great apes kept at Frankfurt Zoo: Bonobo (Pan paniscus), Orang-Utan (Pongo abelii) and Gorilla (Gorilla g. gorilla). ‘Wald’ is the German word for forest. Frankfurt has a long history of keeping great apes: Around 1871, the first chimpanzees arrived, and in 1873 the first Orang-Utan. In 1928, the first Gorilla was brought to the Zoo, transported by a zeppelin, and in 1955 the first pair of Bonobos came to the Zoo. The first ape house was opened in 1933, but it was destroyed in1944 during Second World War. In 1971 the totally rebuilt house was at that time state of the art with an epoxy covered floor, climbing structures made of stainless steel, asbestos platforms and bullet-proof glass as barriers between apes and visitors inside and outside. Borgori Wald replaced this then outdated building in 2008! On an area of 10.000 sqm we give our visitors an impression of the tropical environment of the great apes. Beside the great apes, Drills and Colobus monkeys are also kept in the Borgori-Wald, of which the latter are being kept together with Gorillas in the future. In an aviary we keep Golden-breasted starlings and Fishers turacos. And again we try some new and innovative steps in keeping great apes.
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