After months with no male gorillas in their troop, the San Francisco Zoo is set to introduce a 26-year-old male silverback gorilla named Cecil on Saturday, with high hopes that baby gorillas may soon follow his arrival.
There was great sadness, and a few uncomfortable questions, when the San Francisco Zoo’s last remaining male Oscar Jonesy suddenly died in February. The 43-year-old western lowland gorilla was under anesthesia when he passed, which is not normally considered a risk for gorilla fatality. Though right before this year’s July 4 weekend, we learned that the SF Zoo would be getting a new male gorilla, a 26-year-old male silverback western lowland gorilla named Cecil.
Cecil actually arrived at the zoo in early August, by way of the Louisville (Kentucky) Zoo, but the SF Zoo’s gorilla habitat has been closed to the public to give Cecil a chance to familiarize himself with the three resident females. That changes this weekend, as KTVU reports that Cecil will make his public debut Saturday when the gorilla habitat reopens to the public.
“Since his arrival from the Louisville Zoo in early August, 26-year-old male silverback gorilla Cecil, has been acclimating to his new home and getting to know his new family troop,” the zoo said in a Wednesday afternoon Facebook post. “We wanted to make sure he [and the females] Bawang, Kimani and Monifa, were given plenty of time – and at their own pace – for introductions, before opening up the Jones Family Gorilla Preserve to visitors. We thank you for your patience and support.”
We cannot gloss over concerns over Oscar Jonesy’s highly unusual death in February. He had shown no signs of fatal illness, and of course, this is the same San Francisco Zoo that a city report last year had described as “unsafe” for animals. Meanwhile, some of you will recall the 2014 death of 16-month old baby gorilla Kabibe when she was crushed by a hydraulic door.
And to put it lightly, it has not been a great year or so for the San Francisco Zoo.
The SF Zoo seems to realize they carry that baggage, even if they don’t admit it directly.
“We feel like this is a new day for the zoo. And Cecil is kinda the beginning of the new day for the zoo,” zoologist Robbie Graham told KGO. “So, we’re really excited to see him get along with the females and hopefully we’ll get some baby gorillas in the next few years.”
Wow, no pressure there! But we gladly join the zoo in applying that pressure, as we remember the joyful frenzy this town went into when that baby gorilla Kabibe was born here in 2013.
Related: SF Zoo’s Relentlessly Adorable Red Panda ‘Tenzing’ Has Died [SFist]
Image: San Francisco Zoo via Facebook