World’s “Loneliest Gorilla” Denied Freedom After 33 Years Caged in a Shopping Mall
Animal activists are calling for the release of Bua Noi, who has spent almost all her life at a zoo inside a Bangkok shopping centre.
A female gorilla, named Bua Noi, has been caged inside a Bangkok shopping mall for thirty-three years, despite pleas calling for her release to spend her final years in a sanctuary.
“She’s sitting there dying of boredom,” Edwin Wiek, founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand told The Guardian.
Bua Noi, whose name translates to “Little Lotus,” was sent to Thailand from Germany in 1988. For much of the three decades, she has been locked inside a cage at Pata Zoo on the seventh floor of the Pata Pinklao Department Store.
Gorillas are social animals who usually live in family groups of five to 10 in the wild. Bua Noi has spent the last decade alone after the death of her mate, leading campaigners to describe her as “the world’s loneliest gorilla”.
Animal rights activists around the world have long called for the gorilla's release. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Thai government have been fighting her cause. Singer Cher joined the dispute in 2020, writing to Thailand’s environment minister, Varawut Silpa-archa, to express “deep concern” over Bua Noi’s living conditions.
Last month, Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment announced plans to buy and rescue Bua Noi. However, Pata Zoo later claimed that there had not been conversations surrounding this, despite rumors that the owners would only release the gorilla for 30m baht ($800,000).
The Thai government cannot do anything to remove Bua Noi as she is considered private property, according to Thanetpol Thanaboonyawat, the secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources. “The owner bought Bua Noi before laws were introduced to prevent the trade and ownership of endangered animals and wild animals,” he said.
“Every animal at Pata Zoo is enduring a life sentence, something not handed to even the hardest Thai criminals,” said Jason Baker, senior vice-president at PETA Asia. “They could have a meaningful life if they were transferred to a facility that would provide the mental stimulation and physical comfort of the naturalistic environment they need.”
Bua Noi’s owners state that she may not adapt to a new environment with natural pathogens, a claim that has been dismissed by Amos Courage, the director of overseas projects for The Aspinall Foundation, who have offered to fund the costs of transitioning Bua Noi to a sanctuary.
WFFT, whose sanctuary is less than two hours south of Bangkok, says that all animals at Pata Zoo need to be rescued. “The bottom line is the place needs to be closed down. We need to look at a solution for all the animals in the zoo,” said Wiek.
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