A critically endangered gorilla is settling into his new dwelling within the British capital after a first-class flight from Tenerife.
Getting in good and early earlier than the Christmas supply pile-up, London Zoo had Kiburi shipped over by DHL.
After a 1,903-mile door-to-door journey in a big custom-built crate – which included an onboard meal of leafy greens, leeks, a banana, and chilly fruit tea – the 18-year-old stayed in a single day at Heathrow earlier than heading to the zoo.
The enviously photogenic ape, weighing 193kg and measuring 5ft 4in, was welcomed into the Gorilla Kingdom exhibit after his medical check-ups and can quickly be launched to his housemates.
Among them are females Mjukuu and Effie, and kids Alika and Gernot.
Kiburi has arrived as a part of a world breeding programme, so keepers are hoping that he would possibly get Effie or Mjukuu below the mistletoe over the festive season.
Gorilla keeper Glynn Hennessy mentioned: “Like any blended family, when getting to know each other it’s important to take thing slowly, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on the troop and introducing them to each other face-to-face at a pace that they’re comfortable with.”
It appears like Kiburi has been residing his London life to the fullest to date – he is already examined out his new rope swings and loved some tasty meals, together with a breakfast of juicy crimson peppers.
And whereas he is a fan of a lie-in within the mornings, there’s but no signal of him occurring strike.
Read extra:
World’s oldest gorilla dies aged 61
The teenager, who arrived from Zoo Loro Parque, has received some huge bananas to fill as he follows within the stead of Kumbuka, London’s earlier male gorilla who died in 2018.
Keepers recognized him as a worthy successor through the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme, and he is already proved to be a “calm, friendly individual and a great fit for our own gorilla family’s dynamic”.
The programme goals to guard and develop the worldwide inhabitants of Western lowland gorillas, that are weak to poaching, illness, deforestation, and local weather change.
While they’re notoriously elusive, residing in a few of Africa’s densest and most distant rainforests, the WWF estimates their whole inhabitants at 100,000.
Source: information.sky.com”