The impetus for us to start preparing and pushing for this project were the floods that inundated the zoo’s lower grounds in June 2013. Later in the summer of that same year, I spotted a place where the new pavilion could stand. It had to meet two main conditions – a favourable microclimate and to be big enough to build a sufficiently large building and enclosures. The self-seeded, overgrown depression in the terrain below Sklenářka, at the end of the giraffe enclosure, met these conditions.

That was when the real ordeal began. Even though we’d had expert studies prepared, which made it quite clear that the new pavilion would not disrupt the landscape of the Troja basin or spoil the views from afar, we had to fight a protracted battle to overturn all the objections to its construction. After all the hold ups, we finally began building in October 2019.

The concept behind the new pavilion is to give visitors the experience of travelling through Cameroon. This is why it was named the Dja Reserve, after the area in Cameroon where we are involved in the conservation of western lowland gorillas and nature in general. There was nothing easy about its construction; it is a completely atypical and, in many ways, innovative complex... Moreover, the covid pandemic further complicated the situation. But this April, the long-yearned-for final approval was granted and we could start putting in the finishing touches and populating it with animals. Only the last two inhabitants have yet to move in – the male gorilla Kisumu and Moja’s daughter Duni.

The pavilion is still a work in progress, but a few people have already seen it. Anthony Sheridan, a British expert on zoos and assessing them, has been round it twice. After his last visit, he wrote to me:

I congratulate you on the really magnificent Gorilla exhibit which is the best I have seen in its truly immersive experience for visitors; its link with the Dja Reserve in Cameroon is very well presented and is a real contribution to educating your visitors about the need for in situ conservation measures there. Amongst several notable features in the indoor exhibit are the special multi-layer glass windows enabling the Gorillas to escape the sounds of visitors whilst the visitors are still able to hear the Gorillas! The sounds of the forest are another great feature. I believe this milestone exhibit will be of great interest and help to other Zoos wishing to invest in new and improved developments for Gorillas and other primates.

Let’s hope so... Of course, we’re most eager to hear what you, our visitors, have to say about the Dja Reserve. Hopefully you’ll like it half as much as Anthony did.