Three male gorillas from Zoo Atlanta will soon leave Atlanta for a new home at a new zoo.
Mbeli, Kali and Gunther are western lowland gorillas who have lived together as part of a bachelor group at the Atlanta facility since 2012.
Zoo Atlanta spokesperson Rachel Davis said the gorillas will move on May 16. She would not reveal the name of the new zoo that will receive the three, saying “we’re giving them a chance to make their own announcement first. We didn’t want to steal their thunder.”
Davis said all three will go to the same zoo and will be part of a bachelor group there.
The move was recommended by the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP), a comprehensive strategy intended to manage the critically endangered species, created by the members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Two specialists on the Zoo Atlanta primate team will accompany the trio on their journey.
Kali, 12, and Gunther, 11, are half-brothers, and the sons of silverback Taz. Kali is also a twin, a rarity among western lowland gorillas. Mbeli, 16, is the youngest son of silverback Ozzie and the late Banga.
Kali and his sister, Kazi, were reared by their mother Kuchi, who, according to the zoo, "became the first gorilla in a zoological setting in the world to rear twins independently."
Zoo Atlanta cares for one of the largest populations of western lowland gorillas in North America.
“Collaborative programs like the (Species Survival Plan) are so important to the long-term success of animal populations,” said Hayley Murphy, DVM, vice president of animal divisions at Zoo Atlanta, “and our organizations are not islands. We’re all working together for the sustainability of a critically endangered species.”
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