News

Louisville Zoo’s award-winning Gorilla Forest recently added another gorilla, making the total count 12. The Louisville Zoo currently ranks in the nation’s top 12 zoos with its number of gorillas.

Demba, a 36-year-old female Western lowland gorilla, arrived from the Philadelphia Zoo Dec. 12. After she completed the normal quarantine period, she was introduced to the geriatric gorilla group—Timmy, Tunuka and Helen.

Because gorillas are living longer, healthier lives in zoos, the number of geriatric gorillas is growing. In forming a geriatric group, the Louisville Zoo is playing its part to meet the needs of this demographic trend.

“When we took Demba we knew she would fit easily into this geriatric group,” Gorilla Forest Supervisor Roby Elsner said. “Putting Demba with other gorillas her age helps her be more social and active. Being at Gorilla Forest is definitely conducive to her well-being.”

Demba likes human attention and is known for always carrying a blanket, dancing and performing pirouettes.

With the addition of Demba, Gorilla Forest is fulfilling its mission as a sanctuary to meet the dynamic needs of gorillas.

There are currently three family groups each lead by a silverback occupying Gorilla Forest space:

TIMMY’S GROUP: This geriatric group consists of: Timmy (48), Tunuka (44), Helen (49) and Demba (36).

MSHINDI’S GROUP: Mshindi arrived in Louisville in 2005 as part of the Gorilla

Species Survival Plan (SSP) from the St. Louis Zoo. The makeup of this group is based on a recommendation from the SSP to form a younger family group. It contains Mshindi (19), Paki (17) and Mia Moja (17).

FRANK’S GROUP: The youngsters in this bachelor group are mother-raised and well-socialized. They are also genetically well-represented among gorillas in zoos. It contains Frank (43), Jelani (10), Kicho (9), Cecil (8) and Bengati (8).

Even during cold weather, visitors can view the gorillas inside Gorilla Forest’s comfortable, climate-controlled sanctuary. The Zoo is operating on its winter schedule. You can enter the Zoo daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (exit by 5 p.m.)  Admission rates for adults (12-59) are $10.95, children (3-11) are $7.95, seniors discount rate (60+) $8.95 and infants 2 and under are free.

GORILLA FACTS

• The name “gorilla” means hairy person and was coined by an explorer from ancient Carthage almost 2,500 years ago.
  
• Gorillas are the largest of the primates.
  
• An adult male can weigh 350-600 pounds.
  
• They generally live 25-35 years, but can live more than 50 years.
  
• The Louisville zoo houses the Western lowland gorillas, the subspecies found in almost all the world’s zoos. They are the most plentiful and relatively wide spread subspecies in the wild with a population of 110,500.
  
• In the wild, gorillas are located in six countries in west Africa. Almost 80 percent are in the Congo and Gabon, with a few troops also in Central African Republic, Equatorial Guina, Cameroon and Nigeria.
  
• The biggest threat to gorillas is the loss of land due to human development. Another threat is poaching for bush meat.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Gorillas can stand on their legs but they walk using their legs and “hands” in a four-footed manner, which is an easier way to balance the heavy weight of their head and upper body. They use the hand like a foot and walk on the knuckles.
  
• Gorillas’ arms are proportionately different from their legs. An average male gorilla is six inches shorter than an average man but its arms are about a foot longer.
  
• A gorilla can use its feet to grab.
  
• Although its head is larger, a gorilla’s brain is smaller than a human’s.
  
• Gorillas are gentle and treat each other with kindness and consideration.
  
• A baby gorilla may weigh only 4.5-pounds at birth but grow to become a 400-pound adult. A male gorilla can weigh twice as much as a female.
  
• A gorilla’s hand is like a human’s hand except twice as big.
  
• They savor their meals, smacking lips together and grumbling with contentment.