Yes, Bantu is the last gorilla and the only male gorilla not only in Mexico, but in all of Latin America, now that Idi died at Belo Horizonte zoo in Brazil. To make matters even more difficult, attempts to bred bantu with Arila, a wild caught female gorilla from the Zacango zoo, failed badly. Bantu was born at Chapultepec and does not seem to get along with other gorillas. He is a very popular animal at Chapultepec and always gets a huge crowd, it is just a pity about his mean disposition to other apes.
How old is Bantu and what are the zoo's plans once he passes away? I was just looking at the exhibit through google street view and the zoo has a really nice gorilla exhibit, so hopefully they could get a family or bachelor group in the future.
Also, this is completely unrelated but I just checked the AZA website and noticed they are not accredited, is there are reason for that?
EDIT: Just saw the other photo that has some answers, but anything else you can add is welcomed.
Bantu was born at Chapultepec in 1991, so he is 22 years old. His mother was from the Cincy zoo. The gorilla exhibit is one of the best in Chapultepec and could easily hold more apes, but Bantu is unsocial. What a pity.
Chapultepec was admitted to WAZA. As the national zoo of Mexico i suspect that there is a nationalist tendency for the capital´s zoo not to join the AZA. Everything becomes political here sooner or later. Of course, africam safari belongs to the AZA but since that zoo is private it is a different matter.
