1 male and 3 females is usually the best number. Any less than 3 females isn't often recommended due to the need for balance of social dynamics. Two females will likely constantly bicker and fight with one another for social status. So that's why a third is necessary.
I am unsure how much space ABQ Zoo has for gorillas and if they can hold a non-breeding/retirement group. If not, I would hope management and SSP expediently move her on to a facility where she can either be part of another family group or integrated into an elderly non-breeding group.
ABQ has two outdoor enclosures - one for the breeding group and the other for the bachelor group.
It's interesting that San Antonio will essentially have a group founded by three half sisters (sharing the same sire); which is quite unusual genetically speaking. Two of the females, Merry Leigh and Anaka, also share the same maternal grandparents. And the other female, the same maternal grandfather.
This would have to be Jessica as she is I believe the only female gorilla at SDZ.
I read this as eliminating a loan, so the animal may have already been there and a transfer may not have actually occurred recently.
Yeah I read it the same way - it should be 0.1 Ndjia who was transferred to LA in 2018. They've just transferred her ownership to LA, instead of a maintaining a loan on her.
That's interesting move considering Cecil's age - and the fact that he's lived in a bachelor group almost his entire life. I wonder whether dynamics within his bachelor troop have influenced this selection.
