North America Western Lowland Gorilla Population

Zoo Miami is moving their gorillas in May and will be without the species "for the foreseeable future"
Zoo Miami

"As Zoo Miami continues to grow and regulations that govern zoos continue to evolve, changes are necessary to meet new requirements to safely house and manage the wide variety of animals that call Zoo Miami home. Visitors to Zoo Miami will notice a myriad of construction projects that are presently underway ranging from the installation of secondary fencing to the modification of containment moats. Though many of the upgrades and modifications can be made around the animals, there are some that require moving the animals to another location. This unfortunately will necessitate the temporary closing of some exhibits. Those closures can range from a day to a significantly longer period of time, depending on the modifications required. Examples of exhibits that require significant modifications include all the great ape habitats and holding areas. Unfortunately, this will require our chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas to be temporarily shifted at different times to be able to safely accommodate the construction schedules. This will sometimes result in them being out of public view. As part of this process, the difficult decision had to be made to relocate the gorillas to a different facility. Our bachelor males, Shango and Barney, both brothers, have resided at Zoo Miami since 2017 when they arrived from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas. Since that time, they have shared the gorilla habitat as a bachelor group, an important social group for male gorillas. An opportunity has arisen to send both Barney and Shango to another accredited zoo. Because their bloodline is already well-represented under professional care, they will remain part of a bachelor group. The decision was made in accordance with the recommendation of the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP) developed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Though this is good for Barney and Shango, it will unfortunately lead to Zoo Miami not housing gorillas for the foreseeable future. Presently, the plan is for Barney and Shango to depart Miami in early May. Zoo Miami has been a home for gorillas for over 4o years and has experienced multiple births during that time. The departure of Barney and Shango will certainly leave a void that will be hard to fill. However, their health and wellbeing must be the priority and this upcoming move reflects that. We wanted to provide an opportunity for the public to see these majestic animals one more time before they head to their new home this spring.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Zoo Miami is moving their gorillas in May and will be without the species "for the foreseeable future"
Zoo Miami

"As Zoo Miami continues to grow and regulations that govern zoos continue to evolve, changes are necessary to meet new requirements to safely house and manage the wide variety of animals that call Zoo Miami home. Visitors to Zoo Miami will notice a myriad of construction projects that are presently underway ranging from the installation of secondary fencing to the modification of containment moats. Though many of the upgrades and modifications can be made around the animals, there are some that require moving the animals to another location. This unfortunately will necessitate the temporary closing of some exhibits. Those closures can range from a day to a significantly longer period of time, depending on the modifications required. Examples of exhibits that require significant modifications include all the great ape habitats and holding areas. Unfortunately, this will require our chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas to be temporarily shifted at different times to be able to safely accommodate the construction schedules. This will sometimes result in them being out of public view. As part of this process, the difficult decision had to be made to relocate the gorillas to a different facility. Our bachelor males, Shango and Barney, both brothers, have resided at Zoo Miami since 2017 when they arrived from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas. Since that time, they have shared the gorilla habitat as a bachelor group, an important social group for male gorillas. An opportunity has arisen to send both Barney and Shango to another accredited zoo. Because their bloodline is already well-represented under professional care, they will remain part of a bachelor group. The decision was made in accordance with the recommendation of the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP) developed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Though this is good for Barney and Shango, it will unfortunately lead to Zoo Miami not housing gorillas for the foreseeable future. Presently, the plan is for Barney and Shango to depart Miami in early May. Zoo Miami has been a home for gorillas for over 4o years and has experienced multiple births during that time. The departure of Barney and Shango will certainly leave a void that will be hard to fill. However, their health and wellbeing must be the priority and this upcoming move reflects that. We wanted to provide an opportunity for the public to see these majestic animals one more time before they head to their new home this spring.
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I wonder if they might be moving to San Antonio's new exhibit.
 
Lately, the SSP has been changing their plans pretty quickly.

The last Masterplan assigned Umande, Mosi, and Amare to Brookfield Zoo, and Zola, Bwenzi, Shana, and Juba to the San Antonio Zoo.

However, there are several zoos with available space: the Little Rock Zoological Gardens, Denver Zoo, National Zoological Park, Busch Gardens, Zoo Atlanta, Louisville Zoo, Zoo New England, Detroit Zoo, Kansas City Zoo, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, Toledo Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo, Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, Knoxville Zoological Gardens, and Gladys Porter Zoo.
 
The last Masterplan made the following recommendations:
  • Audubon Zoo -> Los Angeles Zoo: Praline
  • Houston Zoo -> San Antonio Zoological Society: Ajari
  • Bronx Zoo -> Gladys Porter Zoo: Suki
  • Dallas Zoo -> San Antonio Zoological Society: Juba, B’wenzi, Shana and Zola
  • Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens -> Brookfield: Amare, Mosi and Umande
  • Zoo Atlanta -> San Antonio Zoological Society: Merry Leigh, Andi and Anaka
  • Oklahoma City Zoological Park -> Dallas Zoo: Finyezi
  • Riverbanks Zoological Park -> Dallas Zoo: Zakota and Moyo
  • Smithsonian National Zoological Park -> Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens: Moke
  • Gladys Porter Zoo -> Cleveland Metroparks Zoo: Kruger and Burchfield (2026-2027)
  • Woodland Park Zoological Gardens -> Cleveland Metroparks Zoo: Kitoko (2026-2027)

However, they can be changed if necessary, Babatunde, Patty, Nyah, Abeo, JJ, Kamoli, Shango and Barney were not recommended moves in this Masterplan, nor were SF, SDZSP, BG, Pittsburgh or Toronto's next silverbacks.
 
John Marchwick said:
Photos: Gladys the gorilla is pregnant at the Cincinnati Zoo

Gladys, a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo is pregnant.
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Great news for Cincinnati! This will be their first gorilla baby in over a decade, and also the first for both parents, Mbeli and Gladys.

It'll be intriguing to see how Gladys fares, being hand raised. But she is quite a valuable female via both of her parents, so fingers crossed the pregnancy and birth goes well and we get a healthy infant born.
 
Must feel very full circle for keepers both in Cincy and Texas after working so hard all those years ago to get her in with other gorillas. Lovely to see this. Especially after her broken arm drama!
 
 
Smaggledagle said:
(0.1) western lowland gorilla Andi will be transferred from Zoo Atlanta in Georgia to San Antonio Zoo in Texas in the future.

14K views · 171 reactions | Say hello to Andi! Coming to us from Zoo Atlanta, Andi is the smallest of the bunch and absolutely loves snacking on grapes and bananas. She’ll be... | By San Antonio Zoo | Facebook
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Great news - so the San Antonio breeding group is beginning to take shape. Two females have been confirmed thus far, plus the silverback;

1.0 Ajari (30/10/2000) Paul Donn x Ione
0.1 Merry Leigh (09/05/2011) Taz x Kudzoo
0.1 Andi (15/03/2013) Taz x Lulu

Presumably there will be at least one other female that will also join them.
 
Does anyone know why when new breeding groups are formed they typically pick 1 male and 3 females? Just a pattern I’ve noticed and been curious about why the SSP does that!
 
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