Ya, caught the keeper talk, he's really getting up there in age, starting to show it too. Sorry for the angle of some of these pictures too. My computer is convince their fine till I upload them then they get flipped.
Charles is getting old for a male gorilla. The median life expectancy for a male is 31.8 years while the max is 54 (based on the current longest lived male). At 43 Charles is right in that range. He is now past the point where they expect him to breed again so Nneka will most likely be his last. Plus I do remember at some point hearing Charles does have some heart issues.
Just to give the female comparison on life expectancy for Josephine. For a female the average life expectancy is 38.3 years while the current max is 58. At 44 she too is in the middle of that group.
