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MEET THE
GORILLAS
The Louisville Zoo’s Gorilla Forest is home to:
 BENGATI
Bengati, a blackback born at Lincoln Park Zoo in 1998, arrived at
Louisville Zoo in 2002. Bengati currently resides with three other blackbacks,
Jelani, Kicho and Cecil. He shares his father’s looks, but some
physical traits of his great grandmother Helen can be seen in him as
well.
(photo courtesy of Louisville
Zoo) |
 CECIL
Cecil, a blackback born at Cincinnati Zoo in 1998 arrived at
Louisville Zoo in 2004. He and Kicho share several relatives,
including the same father. Cecil is the youngest member of the
all-male group of four backbacks. His lack of size and young age is
compensated for by his intelligence and savvy social skills.
(photo by Kim Raymond) |
 DEMBA
Demba was born at Dallas Zoo in 1970. She moved to Philadelphia Zoo in
1999, then to Louisville Zoo in 2006. She commonly carries blankets made
of cut material given to her by care staff and often “talks” to her
keepers by directing contentment vocalizations toward them. She
currently lives with Helen.
(Photo courtesy of Louisville Zoo) |
HELEN
Helen was born in the wild in 1958, then lived at Lincoln Park Zoo until
her arrival at Louisville Zoo in 2002. Helen’s hair has grayed, and she
has a highly wrinkled face and grizzled sideburns. She prefers her alone
time, but tolerates social living with Demba.
(photo
by Kim Raymond) |
JELANI
Jelani, a blackback born at Lincoln Park Zoo in 1997, arrived at
Louisville Zoo in 2002. Jelani currently resides with three other blackbacks,
Bengati, Kicho and Cecil. He is a laid-back individual, but
enjoys rough play and daring antics at times. He enjoys the company
of all of the blackbacks of the group, and he can often be seen
playfully chestbeating with one hand when interacting with other
group members.
(photo by Kim Raymond) |
 KICHO
Kicho, a blackback born at Cincinnati Zoo in 1997, arrived at
Louisville Zoo in 2004. He and Cecil share several relatives,
including the same father. Kicho is the stockiest of the four
blackbacks in the bachelor group, and can also be easily recognized by
his protruding upper left canine tooth and his wall-eyes. He enjoys
rough play with the blackbacks of the group, as well as playing
alone. He often enjoys splashing around in one of the outdoor pools,
and he also can often be found climbing the exhibits’ trees.
(photo by Roby Elsner) |
 KWELI
Kweli was born
at Cincinnati Zoo in 1983 and arrived in Louisville in April of
2008. She is mother to Kicho (Louisville Zoo) and also has offspring
at Pittsburgh Zoo and Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo. She was an excellent
mother as well as a high-ranking and well-socialized female at
Cincinnati. She lives in a group with Mia Moja, Paki and Mshindi.
(photo
by Kara Bussabarger, Louisville Zoo) |
MIA MOJA
Mia Moja was born at Zoo Atlanta in 1989 and arrived at Louisville Zoo
in 2004. She is the smallest member of her group which includes Mshindi, Kweli
and Paki. Mia Moja often dons scarves made of
cut material that care staff gives her.
(photo
courtesy of Jodi Kissinger, Zoo Atlanta) |
MSHINDI
Mshindi was born at St Louis Zoo in 1987 and arrived in Louisville
in 2005. He is half-brother to Lincoln Park Zoo silverback JoJo, who
also lived in here and was very popular with Louisville Zoo visitors
from 2002 until his return to Chicago in 2004. His group consists of
Mia, Kweli and Paki.
(photo courtesy of Saint Louis Zoo, Carol Weerts photographer) |
 PAKI
Paki was born at Bronx Zoo in 1989. She arrived at Louisville Zoo in
2004 with Timmy and she currently lives with Mshindi, Mia Moja and
Kweli. Paki prefers the company of Timmy but enjoys
interaction with both visitors at the glass and care staff. Paki is
often seen sucking her finger and standing upright.
(photo by Roby Elsner)
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Please note, to promote activity levels
similar to those of gorillas in the wild, all gorillas will be
encouraged to rotate through the various habitat areas at different
times each day. Therefore it is impossible to predict in advance which
gorillas will be on display at a specific time.
These photos are
copyrighted and can not be used without permission of the photographer.
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