Bua Noi: 'World's loneliest gorilla' still caged in shopping mall after 30 years in captivity
BANGKOK, THAILAND: The 'world's loneliest gorilla' might not be seeing freedom anytime soon, as per reports. Bua Noi sits alone in her cage for 30 years, and is a tourist attraction at the Pata Zoo located seven stories above a Thailand shopping mall. Activists from around the world as well as singer Cher and actor Gillian Anderson, have long campaigned for the primate to be moved from the zoo. However, the family who owns Bua Noi continues to resist public and government pressure to give up the critically endangered animal.
The gorilla, which has lived at Pata for more than three decades, made headlines again in March after the zoo offered a 100,000 baht ($2,930) reward in exchange for information about the person who graffitied 'Free Bua Noi!' on one of the mall's walls. The zoo plans on arresting the individual. This comes simultaneously with Thailand reopening tourist places after the pandemic with many foreigners drawn to the kingdom's wildlife. According to the Daily Mail, the zoo is infamous for tiger selfies and abused elephants while the kingdom tries to portray itself as more environmentally friendly.
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New environmental legislation does not cover private-owned zoos
The new environmental legislation passed by authorities does not cover privately owned zoos such as Pata or non-indigenous creatures like Bua Noi but rather works at preventing the abuse of native-born animals. "[Pata] can still open because the wild animal conservation and protection act zoo section has not been enforced yet," Padej Laithong, director of the national wildlife conservation office, told AFP, as per the Daily Mail. Padej added that the officials are more worried about the zoos fulfilling licensing requirements than animal welfare. Pata, in fact, had applied for a license extension before theirs expired. Moreover, the director was also concerned about the building's fire safety. "All of these details must be answered before the license can be renewed, suspended, or revoked," he stated.
Pata blames foreigners
Pata blamed foreigners for the criticism, noting that zoos around the world have had gorillas. "No citizens of any country in the world have attacked their country for possessing gorillas, except in Thailand," the management wrote in a six-page statement released following the graffiti incident. They added that the gorilla was well-cared for throughout her life.
'She needs to get out of it'
Bua Noi was brought over from Germany in 1992 and was reportedly three years old. According to IUCN, the average lifespan of the Eastern Gorilla is over 40 years. Thus, Bua Noi has spent much of her life at Pata. "She needs to get out of it," Edwin Wiek, of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, a sanctuary that aims to educate people and rehabilitate animals, told AFP. "She is not able to see the sun, or the moon. She's in a cement box with glass windows." The family-owned zoo continues to reject international pressure of releasing the animal, including the time they turned down a reported 30 million baht ($8,73,551) offer from Thailand's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, declaring that the gorilla was too old to be rehabilitated.
Activists insist that the cage is unsuitable for Bua Noi, which is a highly sociable animal. "She needs to be among her own kind, or at least be outside and have some chance to see things, experience nature, birds flying around," said Wiek. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which has staged multiple protests over the years, Bua Noi was "suffering from extreme psychological distress." The animal which usually lives in tight-knit family groups sits alone behind iron bars and glass windows with only a swinging tire for company.