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Assuming the project moves forward -- and preliminary
work has already been completed -- the $12 million facility will be
"the largest gorilla habitat sanctuary in the world," he says.
However, the project cannot go forward until the money needed to complete
the preserve has been raised.
The refuge could house "bachelor males." |
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Currently, cramped conditions and noise from nearby roads can make
social interactions among the gorillas difficult. At the new facility,
however, "the design should give the gorillas plenty of places
to play and just be gorillas," Connelly says. In that spirit, the
new compound will be closed to visitors, just like the current facility.
But the Foundation hopes to have a visitor's center to accommodate Koko's
many fans -- and possibly even a two-way video system that would allow
gorilla and human to observe one another.
If all goes well, and Koko does have a baby, Patterson's research would
enter another exciting phase. In particular, she is interested in finding
out whether Koko will teach her infant to sign. If she does, it would
be an example of passing along complex learned behavior
that many researchers once believed only humans could accomplish.
Even if Koko never reproduces, however, the refuge will still be important,
Connelly says. It could, for instance, help house young, captive "bachelor
males" who typically spend some time on their own before joining
a social group, helping make captive populations healthier. And it will
be part of the international network of conservation centers working
to remind people of the importance of protecting free-living gorilla
populations. While captive gorillas are important for research and education,
Connelly notes that "the best thing to have is happy and healthy
wild populations in Africa."
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