But designers of the 15-year-old Tropical Forest didn't figure
on Little Joe, a 5-foot-tall, 300-pound adolescent gorilla who,
like human teenagers, was increasingly restless with life at
home. Little Joe, 11, was able to scale a steep wall and cross
the moat because he has not yet gained the weight to fill out
his long arms That's when startled zoo volunteers spotted Little
Joe with nothing between him and the public except a potted
plant. Zookeepers quickly evacuated the one family in the
Tropical Forest that morning, allowing Joe to tour the forest
exhibit building, returning to the ape enclosure on his own 10
minutes later. Though no one was hurt, the incident alarmed zoo
staff since there had never been a successful gorilla escape
before. brief brush with freedom in August underscores a growing
problem at American zoos: an increasing number of young male
gorillas who are both agile enough and restless enough to
challenge the security systems that While the growth is only
part of an overall 38 percent inc