Saint Louis Zoo welcomes two endangered western lowland gorillas

FOX23 News at 9 p.m

ST. LOUIS (KBSI) — The Saint Louis Zoo has welcomed two juvenile western lowland gorillas that will join its bachelor troop later this summer.

Gus, 10, and Bukavu, 8, arrived this week from the Fort Worth Zoo following a transfer recommendation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Western Lowland Gorilla Species Survival Plan, a conservation breeding program that helps maintain a genetically healthy population of the species in accredited North American zoos.

Zoo officials said the move reflects natural behavior observed in the wild, where juvenile male gorillas typically leave their family group to join bachelor troops.

Gus and Bukavu are currently acclimating behind the scenes before joining the Saint Louis Zoo’s bachelor troop at Jungle of the Apes, where they will live with 10-year-old gorillas Zachary and Kayin.

The zoo said bachelor troops help prepare male gorillas, known as silverbacks, to eventually lead family groups. Similar social groups are found in the wild, where males live together before joining breeding groups.

Western lowland gorillas are the most common of the four gorilla subspecies but are classified as critically endangered. The Saint Louis Zoo supports conservation efforts through the AZA Species Survival Plan and its WildCare Institute Center for the Conservation of Congo Apes.

The zoo said Gus and Bukavu are expected to make their public debut later this summer.