MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Gorillas continue to be at high risk of extinction in the wild in Africa due to threats that include poachers.
Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill wants children to learn more about the ground-dwelling great apes by meeting “Shango” and “Barney” in person.
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“Come see the gorillas before their departure,” Magill said in a statement released on Monday.
In Chicago, The Brookfield Zoo staff was preparing to welcome the duo at the new tropical forest exhibit, also home to orangutans and monkeys.
“They will be leaving Zoo Miami at the end of May to allow for the renovation of the great ape habitat,” Magill said in the statement.
The two adult silverbacks are among the more than 340 gorillas living at zoos nationwide.
“For the first time in over 40 years, their departure will result in the absence of gorillas at Zoo Miami for the foreseeable future,” Magill said.
On Friday, during veterinary exams in preparation for the move to Chicago, 36-year-old “Shango” weighed 448 lbs., and 31-year-old “Barney” weighed 415 lbs.
“Initial indications are that the gorillas are in good health and have been cleared to travel to their new home,” Magill said.
While gorillas’ lifespan in the wild is 35 to 40 years, “Fatou,” a female at the Zoologischer Garten Berlin in Germany, marked her 68th birthday on April 13.
Magill said “Shango” and “Barney” will be “the first-ever bachelor troop” on display at the zoo in Chicago.
“Bachelor troops — made up of younger males who have left their family troop or adult males who haven’t formed one — are a natural and important part of gorilla life in the wild," Magill said.
“Shango,” born on March 11, 1989, and “Barney,” born on Oct. 12, 1993, are both natives of the San Francisco Zoo, where their mother “Bawang,” born at the Cincinnati Zoo, turned 43 last year.
The brothers lived at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas from 2004 to 2017 before moving to Zoo Miami as part of an exhibit loan.
Magill said Zoo Miami will be working on a new “great ape habitat” that complies with the “updated” Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission regulations.
“For the first time in over 40 years, their departure will result in the absence of gorillas at Zoo Miami for the foreseeable future,” Magill said.