Floyd, the young gorilla, recently earned his stripes as a party animal. Last week, Zoo Atlanta celebrated Floyd’s first birthday with “cakes” and gifts.
Floyd, the 24th gorilla who has been born at Zoo Atlanta, was born last summer to his mother Lulu and father Taz. Floyd’s great-grandfather, Ozzie, is the world’s oldest living male gorilla at age 59.
But pedigree aside, last week’s festivities were all about the family tyke.
On July 22, zoo staffers filled the habitat with several ice “cakes” shaped as the the number “one″ and ice blocks packed with fruits like pineapple.
They also added a pile of wood wool to the area, Floyd’s “favorite play enrichment,” which the zoo posted video of on social media.
“As Floyd has grown over the last year, we have seen more of his personality and what makes him unique. More recently, he has been a spunky and energetic little one! In this video, you can see Floyd leap down from a rock in his habitat and run straight for the wood wool (a material our gorillas use for nesting). Floyd seems to have a very carefree and exciting outlook on life,” the Zoo wrote on Instagram
“The older Floyd gets, you’ll notice him venturing out further and further from his mother Lulu. You might also find him exploring his habitat or even engaging in playful behaviors with his sisters,” the Zoo wrote on Instagram.
According to Zoo Atlanta, western lowland gorillas are critically endangered. Over a 25-year period, the population shrunk by 60% in the wild.