Zoo's gorilla exhibit reopens after ape smashes glass

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By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The glass barrier at Zoo Atlanta cracked last week by an angry gorilla has been repaired.

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Taz, a 20-year-old male silver back gorilla, charged a glass barrier at the Willie B. Conservation Center at Zoo Atlanta, resulting in cracks in the panel.

Zoo Atlanta Taz, a 20-year-old male silver back gorilla, charged a glass barrier at the Willie B. Conservation Center at Zoo Atlanta, resulting in cracks in the panel.

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The Willie B. Conservation Center has reopened, zoo spokeswoman Keisha Hines said.

The barrier was broken June 13 by a 20-year-old male silverback, named Taz.

The previous day, he’d undergone a routine medical exam, and zoo officials theorized that he become agitated when he saw veterinarians enter the area. Like any kid who associates a visit to the doctor with a syringe, he may have gotten spooked, officials said.

The gorilla smashed the glass leaving a palm print, several cracks and what appeared to be a small hole, judging from a photo snapped by a zoo visitor and published on the AJC's Web site.

No one was hurt, and zoo officials quickly ushered the dozens of visitors out of the center.

The gorillas were moved into their overnight holding area, and officials said that neither guests nor zoo staff was ever endangered.