Community Corner

Franklin Park Zoo Opens $9 Million 'Gorilla Grove' Habitat

The new Gorilla Grove habitat is now open to the public.

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Franklin Park Zoo opened the new, $9.1 million habitat to the public after a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday.
Franklin Park Zoo opened the new, $9.1 million habitat to the public after a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday. (Jenna Fisher/Patch)

BOSTON — Franklin Park Zoo unveiled a new habitat for gorillas on Tuesday. The new space gives the troop 360,000 cubic feet of space to explore.

City leaders met at the park early Tuesday to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open Gorilla Grove - an outdoor habitat for the six gorillas who call the zoo home.

Little Joe, Kitombe, his mate Kiki, and their three offspring Kambiri, Azize, and Pablo are the gorillas who will now live in the $9 million habitat decked out in climbing vines and waterfalls.

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"We are so thrilled to open Gorilla Grove, which will be an enriching experience not just for the gorillas, but for our guests as well," Zoo New England President and CEO John Linehan said in a statement.

Zoo officials thanked donors who wished to remain anonymous for their contributions to the brand new habitat.

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