Report: Gorilla Enclosure at S.F. Zoo Previously Malfunctioned

Update Friday: The Chronicle reported today that safety issues related to a different door in the gorilla enclosure than the one that killed 16-month-old Kabibe last week at the San Francisco Zoo have cropped up over the past several years.

Zoo officials would not respond to questions Thursday about the gorilla exhibit. But the exhibit’s night quarters have a history of mechanical failures and safety issues, including an incident two years ago when a gorilla was injured by an electric door, according to zoo records obtained by The Chronicle.

On July 16, 2012, an adult gorilla named Monifa had her right hand pinched under a door, cutting the base of all four of her fingers, according to a zoo report. She was treated by veterinarians, and mechanics adjusted the door — which was not the same one that killed Kabibe.

On March 4, 2013, the same door that injured Monifa jammed and had to be pried open with a crowbar, records show. The same door then unexpectedly collapsed earlier this year. “Electric door 5 crashed down in AM while securing gorillas,” stated a Feb. 22 report. “No one injured just upset by noise.”

The Chronicle also said the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which enforces the Animal Welfare Act, is investigating Kabibe’s death. The department previously fined the zoo $1,875 for violations related to the 2007 mauling death of 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. by a tiger that leapt out of its enclosure, the L.A .Times reported in 2011.

As you can read below, Dr. Terry Maple, who is investigating the latest incident, says many areas of the zoo, including the gorilla exhibit, need major upgrades to make them safe.

Original post:

Everyone is still mourning the accidental death Friday of Kabibe, a 16-month-old western lowland gorilla housed at the San Francisco Zoo. You only have to get a gander at some Kabibe photos to start the grieving process all over again.

Among the most affected, naturally, are Kabibe's six family members. Bay City News reported yesterday that her body was given to the gorilla clan for examination, as is custom.

Since the passing of Kabibe on Friday, the group's energy and demeanor has been evolving each day, with appetites and exploratory behavior gradually returning to normal, officials said. Special focus has been placed on Bawang, who was Kabibe's primary caregiver and showed signs of distress immediately following the accident, such as "calling-out" behavior and loss of appetite.

Bawang has since returned to the zoo's outdoor gorilla enclosure and has begun to forage for food again, officials said. The group members closest to Bawang, including grandson Hasani, 5, daughter Nneka, 16, and lifelong companion Zura, 33, have been staying close by her side to console her.

Kabibe was killed when she got stuck in a downwardly closing hydraulic door. The Chronicle reported today that a zoo worker is required to keep a hand on an emergency stop button controlling the door.

A warning sign was in place near the gorilla door Friday, according to a photo obtained through a public records request. The sign states: “To prevent injuries to the gorillas during operation of the electric doors: Move only one door at a time. Keep your hand on the stop button at all times. Do not leave the electric panel until operation of the door is complete.”

But the zookeeper, who has not been identified, didn’t activate the stop button before the gorilla was struck. And the door apparently didn’t have automatic stop mechanisms similar to those on many garage doors, which some animal rights advocates say could have saved the young ape.

A zoo spokesperson told the Chronicle that the hydraulic door’s stop switch is functioning.

KQED's Alex Helmick yesterday spoke to Dr. Terry Maple, a zoo consultant and former director of both the Georgia Tech Center for Conservation & Behavior and Zoo Atlanta. The San Francisco Zoo has brought him in to investigate Kabibe's death.

Maple said the safety system in the gorilla area is "not the most modern technology."

"This facility in 1980 was state of the art. But it's long in the tooth and it’s time to make some serious upgrades so the animals can live even better."

Maple said he's been helping the zoo redesign a new gorilla exhibit, and that more extensive changes in the zoo are necessary. He said zoo staff members have been doing a good job of working around some of the problems, but that "it’s time to dramatically upgrade the entire facility."

"It’s an old zoo. There are many old pieces that need help. It’s time to go back to some of the other areas where they have wanted to change it but the resources haven’t been there to do it. I think things like this tend to create a greater sense of urgency in the community.

"Zoos don’t change because they want to. They change because the community accepts responsibility for the resources required to do it. And that means the government and the private sector working together. I know the director wants to implement some of these changes."

Maple said he'll in San Francisco this weekend and spend next week at the zoo. He hopes to release his findings as early as next week.

The death of Kabibe is the most recent of several high-profile incidents that have cast a bad light on the zoo and raised the ire of animal lovers and advocates over the past decade. In 2007, a Siberian tiger fatally mauled a teenager after escaping from her exhibit. In 2004, two elephants died, and pressure from animal rights groups prompted the city to force the zoo to send its remaining elephants to a sanctuary.