Favourite Silverback Gorillas in Captivity

[marmolady]

Inspired by Mr.Ivory's elephant thread, which introduced me to some wonderful bulls, I'd love to learn about favourite silverback gorillas (past and present!) of forum members.


Ghubari/Ganyeka (b.2000 in Melbourne, Motaba x G-Ann, now Werribee). I'm always struck by his resemblance to his mother (she's a favourite of mine too!). It sounds as though he's inherited her big personality.

Motaba, (b. 1983 at Jersey, Jambo x Nandi, now Werribee). I've always found Motaba to be a magnificent gorilla. He was one of the first gorillas I was able to spend a lot of time watching when I became a zoo enthusiast, and I've been impressed by his presence every visit to him since.

Komale (b.2006 at Bristol, Jock x Salome, now Beekse Bergen). I followed Bristol's gorilla family as a teenager-- they were the first gorillas I ever saw in person-- and watching Komale growing from the tiny baby I visited as a young gorilla enthusiast into a successful group leader and father has been really special. He's a really unique-looking gorilla, with an amazing crest.

Photo by MagpieGoose

And two gorillas very special to me who are no longer with us:

Kumbuka (b.1997 at Belfast, d. 2019 at London, Keke x Kamili). A more stunningly handsome gorilla I have never laid eyes on. I was devastated he died so tragically young, especially in light of the many years' misfortune London had with their gorilla family.

and Rigo (wildborn, 1970-2013, Melbourne). His story of many years isolation and eventual integration into a group at long last is incredibly bittersweet. He had a unique beauty; the only other gorilla I know of who looked remotely like him was his own son, Ya Kwanza. Memories I have of sitting quietly with Rigo at the window for the best part of an hour are among my most treasured.

 

[Pertinax]

Some interesting choices there.

The only one of those I haven't seen is Ganyeka. In appearance, Motaba is a straight 'cross' between his parents, with father Jambo's face and nose, and mother Nandi's redder crown and the longer peppered hair on his upper arms. Kumbuka's early death was tragic- as you say even more so after all their previous losses, and the group hasn't really prospered since as there is still no replacement male.

My favourite outstanding males nowadays are the beautiful Buzandi in Hanover,(Motaba x Betsi) and Komale(Jock xSalome) in BeekesBergen. There are so many silverbacks out there nowadays its difficult to list more current favourites.

 

[Zoofan15]

Kibabu

Born: 25/05/1977
Died: 25/08/2018
Sire: Kisoro
Dam: Baby Doll
Zoos: Howletts, Apenheul, Taronga, Mogo


Photo credit to @Jabiru96

Kibabu arrived at Taronga Zoo in 1996, where he lived for 17 years as the silverback of his troop.

Although the region had held gorillas for a number of decades, breeding success had been sporadic and no infants had been mother raised. Kibabu arrived with his three females (Mouila, Kriba and Frala) ,who each had two offspring. It remains the largest troop ever held in the region.

Frala gave birth to the first mother raised infant in the region in 1998. The infant sadly died, but I much enjoyed following the success of Kibabu’s troop through the 2000’s - making him my favourite silverback.

Kibabu died in 2018, but has many descendants across Australasia, Europe and Asia. His daughter Mbeli (his first surviving infant born in Australasia) remains at Taronga, where she’s produced two infants to date with the new silverback, Kibale.

 

[PossumRoach]

I love Shabani fom Nagoya city's Higashiyama zoo. Too bad that his two offspring may not be too helpful with keeping Japan's gorilla population sustainable since one of the other two zoos in Japan with a breeding troop is has Shabani's brother Haoko as the troop leader.

 

[OkapiFan]

Mosuba at the North Carolina Zoo.

 

[vogelcommando]

The first adult Gorilla-male I can remember made such an impression on me that they are still among my most favorite animals. This male I ment was Makoea at Blijdorp / Rotterdam Zoo. He was living in a relative small indoor enclosure in the old Ape-house ( which was on the same location as the present Gorilla indoor-enclosures but housed at that time also Orang-utans, Chimps and even a Bonobo !
Because he lived most of his live alone, Rotterdam didn't trust him and therefor they didn't placed him by newly obtained younger females but instead they send him to the Soerabaja Zoo in Indonesia were he died a few years later..... .



( Makoea - 1977 and 1978 - shortly before he was send to Indonesia )

 

[aardvark250]

Harambe no explanation needed.

 

[Pertinax]

The first adult Gorilla-male I can remember made such an impression on me that they are still among my most favorite animals. This male I ment was Makoea at Blijdorp / Rotterdam Zoo. He was living in a relative small indoor enclosure in the old Ape-house ( which was on the same location as the present Gorilla indoor-enclosures but housed at that time also Orang-utans, Chimps and even a Bonobo !
Because he lived most of his live alone, Rotterdam didn't trust him and therefor they didn't placed him by newly obtained younger females but instead they send him to the Soerabaja Zoo in Indonesia were he died a few years later..... .

View attachment 515759 View attachment 515761

( Makoea - 1977 and 1978 - shortly before he was send to Indonesia )

I remember Makoua and indeed I saw him once in the 1960's. A very impressive male who was little-known in Europe as he was essentially a singleton. I think they tried to introduce him to the female 'Sophie' and when that failed he was shipped off to the Far East- so often a 'dumping ground' for unwanted Apes in those days. The then-director said they would no longer keep single gorillas. Tragic story.

 

[Azamat Shackleford]

Harambe.

 

[Dhole dude]

Harambe.

 

[FBBird]

Inspired by Mr.Ivory's elephant thread, which introduced me to some wonderful bulls, I'd love to learn about favourite silverback gorillas (past and present!) of forum members.


Ghubari/Ganyeka (b.2000 in Melbourne, Motaba x G-Ann, now Werribee). I'm always struck by his resemblance to his mother (she's a favourite of mine too!). It sounds as though he's inherited her big personality.

Motaba, (b. 1983 at Jersey, Jambo x Nandi, now Werribee). I've always found Motaba to be a magnificent gorilla. He was one of the first gorillas I was able to spend a lot of time watching when I became a zoo enthusiast, and I've been impressed by his presence every visit to him since.

Komale (b.2006 at Bristol, Jock x Salome, now Beekse Bergen). I followed Bristol's gorilla family as a teenager-- they were the first gorillas I ever saw in person-- and watching Komale growing from the tiny baby I visited as a young gorilla enthusiast into a successful group leader and father has been really special. He's a really unique-looking gorilla, with an amazing crest.

Photo by MagpieGoose

And two gorillas very special to me who are no longer with us:

Kumbuka (b.1997 at Belfast, d. 2019 at London, Keke x Kamili). A more stunningly handsome gorilla I have never laid eyes on. I was devastated he died so tragically young, especially in light of the many years' misfortune London had with their gorilla family.

and Rigo (wildborn, 1970-2013, Melbourne). His story of many years isolation and eventual integration into a group at long last is incredibly bittersweet. He had a unique beauty; the only other gorilla I know of who looked remotely like him was his own son, Ya Kwanza. Memories I have of sitting quietly with Rigo at the window for the best part of an hour are among my most treasured.

Rigo certainly has a look of Ya Kwanza

 

[Gigit]

Kumbuka was magnificent despite being such a weedy little thing when he came to Paignton. He had a lovely character too. I'll never forget some moments I had with him and the last time I saw him at ZSL.

 

[gentle lemur]

Where do I start? I have seen quite a few silverbacks - and even more females of course. I could monopolise this thread with photos and reminiscences - but I will spare ZooChatters from that torment.
Instead, I will nominate Matadi. In 2003 he was the first infant born to Sekondi and Ozala at Twycross and grew up with them. But Sekondi died suddenly in 2007, a few weeks before Ozala gave birth to a daughter - although Ozala was (and is) a good mother, this infant only survived for a few months. In 2009, a new silverback, Oumbie, was introduced to the group. I don't know exactly what happened, but when I visited shortly after the introduction, Matadi's aunt Asante had a long, but superficial, wound on her head and Matadi had one on the side of his head and a nasty looking wound along the lower part of his back. It was clear that he was very wary of Oumbie, he stayed at the edge of the exhibit, ready to duck down into the dry moat, and when Oumbie moved on one side of the enclosure, he moved on the opposite side to keep Ozala directly between them.
I was very concerned, so it was a relief that early in 2010 he was sent to join the bachelor group at Paignton, where I was able to see him many times as he grew up there. It was clear that his experience of growing up in a group made him more independent than his hand-reared companions and he held his own even when he was outweighed.

Western gorilla Matadi leaves the building

• gentle lemur
• 14 May 2015
• 6

Matadi is rather more muscular and has a thicker coat than the other young males at Paignton...

Genetically Matadi is very important, as he is the only offspring of Sekondi, who was himself the only offspring of the wild-caught pair at Edinburgh (Sam Sam & Yinka), so Paignton always expected him to become the leader of a breeding group. His chance came when Damian Aspinall selected him for a newly formed group at Howletts. But Matadi was unlucky again, in 2015 he was moved into the old 'Gorillarium' at Howletts, which is next to a second newer exhibit with a similar structure. This enclosure had held Djanghou's group for several years and Djanghou was understandably upset by the arrival of a new young male next-door to his family. Matadi, already unsettled by his new surroundings, was understandably intimidated by the displays of the larger and older male and his family. So he was sent away again, and the enclosures at Howletts were modified so that Sammi, the male who eventually replaced him, could not see or be seen by Djanghou. In 2016 Matadi went to Antwerp, where misfortune followed him. Kiki, one of the females suffered from epilepsy, and Matadi panicked when she had a fit, and he bit and broke her arm: unfortunately she eventually died.
Fortunately, Matadi's luck seems to have changed. He now has two daughters, Thandie and Vizazi, and seems to be a gentle and playful father. It was a great pleasure for me to see him with his family at Antwerp 2 years ago, and I hope to have the chance to see him again one day.

 

[Pertinax]

and Matadi had one on the side of his head and a nasty looking wound along the lower part of his back. It was clear that he was very wary of Oumbie, he stayed at the edge of the exhibit, ready to duck down into the dry moat, and when Oumbie moved on one side of the enclosure, he moved on the opposite side to keep Ozala directly between them.

That's a pretty good summary of Matadi's life to date, he's certainly had some ups and downs. At Twycross, I was told the EEP has advised them to leave him in the group with the newly -arrived Oumbie. But Oumbie was socially confused at first, having lived longterm only with males at Port Lympne, and apparently he tried to mate with Matadi(!) who resisted and got attacked as a result. When I saw them he had the nasty big gash on his rump and was also so frightened he would stay outside if Oumbie was indoors, and vice versa, it was an unfortunate incident for him. So they removed him and placed him with his grandmother Biddy who was in the 2nd group at the time. That worked fine until he could be sent to Paignton.

 

[Joseph55]

My is jomo at the Cincinnati zoo

 

[ZooTripper365]

Bukavu at Blackpool Zoo. Fantastic animal and a real crowd pleaser!

 

[Nile Hippo Expert]

Snowflake at the Barcelona Zoo because he was albino!

 

[ZooTripper365]

Oh yeah forgot about him! Ozzie and Ivan from Zoo Atlanta maybe? Definitely have to mention Willie B! ATL legend

 

[gentle lemur]

I will nominate Matadi. In 2003 he was the first infant born to Sekondi and Ozala at Twycross and grew up with them. . . .It was a great pleasure for me to see him with his family at Antwerp 2 years ago, and I hope to have the chance to see him again one day.

On seeing this post again, I am saddened to say that I will not be able to see Matadi again, because he died a few days ago. It seems that the rest of the group at Antwerp are well, so I hope that his daughters will carry on his line.

 

[Pertinax]

On seeing this post again, I am saddened to say that I will not be able to see Matadi again, because he died a few days ago. It seems that the rest of the group at Antwerp are well, so I hope that his daughters will carry on his line.

As with Rotterdam and the recent loss of Bokito, Antwerp's group is likely to remain without a silverback for some time now as there are still small babies in the group...Probably as a result of what happened with Kesho and Mjukuu's first baby 'Tiny', London waited several years until they felt it safe to replace Kumbuka.