Edition: U.S. / Global

Zoos Rethink Ways to Contain Gorillas

Published: June 20, 2004

A cheetah could do it. So could a chimpanzee. But no one expected a stocky, knuckle-dragging 340-pound gorilla to leap across a 12-foot-wide moat and a wall that separated him from visitors at the Dallas Zoo.

But zoo investigators say that is exactly what happened the day the 13-year-old gorilla, Jabari, escaped and went on a 40-minute rampage in March, snatching up a toddler with his teeth and injuring three other people before being shot to death by officers.

The gorilla's flying leap has astounded primate experts and is leading some to rethink the design of the gorilla exhibits at zoos across the country.

''You think, 'This may be one championship gorilla here, but I've got to be careful because maybe I've got one, too,''' said Terry L. Maple, who was director of Zoo Atlanta for 17 years and has written about gorilla behavior.

At the Dallas Zoo, animals in the gorilla enclosure are roughly at visitors' eye level. Zoo officials, who conducted a three-month investigation, announced this week that they believed Jabari had taken a running start and sailed over the trench, clearing the 14-foot wall and an electrical wire atop it that is supposed to give a mild shock.

Some experts speculate that Jabari may have been doing a ''display run,'' a showy charge that younger males perform for females or other audiences. Others say he could have been motivated by fear, anger or desire to breed.

Dallas Zoo officials believe he escaped by leaping, because they could not find evidence of human error, like an open door, or any object that could have helped him get out. But the zoo director, Rich Buickerood, said, ''We still have not had anyone come forward yet to say they actually witnessed the event.''

As a result, some experts are a bit skeptical that the gorilla made such a leap.

Whatever happened, Jabari's escape moved the zoo to renovate the exhibit where younger gorillas stay. It raised the walls to at least 15 feet, added ''gorilla speed bumps'' to break up long, flat stretches and installed ''hot vines,'' electric wires that resemble plants.

''Everybody who knows anything about gorillas is concerned about this, and everybody should be re-evaluating their safety mechanisms as we speak,'' Dr. Maple said.

Before Jabari's escape, a 12-foot-wide moat was considered an adequate barrier, said Dan Wharton, director of the Central Park Zoo in Manhattan and chairman of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's Gorilla Species Survival Plan.

Gorillas, though powerful, quick, agile in trees and believed by some experts to be as intelligent as chimpanzees, are heavy-boned and were thought to lack the ability to leap long distances.

''I think we probably have underestimated the ability of these animals,'' Dr. Maple said. ''I'm not saying he did it, but if he did do it, it was a tremendous feat of athleticism that heretofore was not known to this species.''

Dr. Wharton said that he had not yet seen the zoo's review of the incident, but that he and other officials planned to study it to determine whether the association should change exhibit guidelines for accredited zoos.

Karen Killmar, associate curator of mammals at the San Diego Zoo, said that zoos would adapt to whatever changes were ordered.

Photo: Jabari escaped at the Dallas Zoo in March and hurt three people. (Photo by Associated Press)