San Antonio Zoo will welcome eight gorillas in the new Congo Falls exhibit, opening in late 2025.
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio will soon be celebrating the return of gorillas at the zoo after more than thirty years.
San Antonio Zoo will soon be home to eight Western Lowland gorillas in a huge, two-acre exhibit called Congo Falls. The exhibit is set to open in late 2025, but in the meantime, KENS 5 is learning more about what life will be like for the new residents. Staff members say it will include play, foraging and exercise.
“Training is very important. It’s a good way for the staff to bond with them to get to know them. And a lot of times it’s training for like husbandry behaviors,” Rachel Malstaff, Director of Animal Care at San Antonio Zoo said. “So, some gorillas are trained to brush their teeth like they actually get a toothbrush and brush to keep up with dental health. Like it’s all of these little training sessions that we can do to help keep them healthy for years to come.”
The new habitat will offer lots of space for interaction and growth. Zoo officials say the unique design will give visitors an immersive experience and a rare opportunity to get right into the gorilla’s own world.
“They have plenty of options to interact with each other, to interact with different things, but also room to get away from each other too because just like people sometimes gorillas want breaks from each other as well. So it’s nice to have plenty of space that they can kind of do their own thing also,” Malstaff said.
Enrichment is also a big part of their daily life. Some days it will be puzzles, other days, it will be introducing new scents. These activities build trust with their keepers and keeps their minds sharp, staff members say.
“Enrichment is a huge portion of their daily care. And throughout the Congo Falls habitat we have different enrichment things built in. There’s a termite mound where the gorillas have to work with sticks to get out treats. There’s feeders throughout the area. So, really throughout their day-to-day, we’re making sure they’re mentally stimulated, they’re working for their food, working for treats,” Malstaff said.
Check out our full interview with Malstaff, as well as Hope Roth, Director of Marketing at the zoo, in a new special on KENS 5+: