BUFFALO, N.Y. — Recently, the Buffalo Zoo and its family of gorillas said goodbye to 10-year-old female western lowland gorilla Amari. Saying goodbye isn't easy, but her departure has special importance.
Her leaving the troop will help her species survive.
The Buffalo Zoo, Zoo Atlanta in Gerogia, and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, have partnered to help mimic what happens in the wild, and make sure that western lowland gorillas survive for years to come.
This means that Amari has been moved to Atlanta by zoo staff, and leaving behind her birth family at the Buffalo Zoo. She'll now start a family of her own with other gorillas at Zoo Atlanta.
“The cooperation and collaboration with two other highly-regarded and accredited zoos is just another example of how the Buffalo Zoo is going beyond just being a local attraction," said Norah Fletchall, President and CEO, Buffalo Zoo.
"We’re making a difference and enhancing the long-term survival for Western lowland gorillas and many other critically endangered species,” said Fletchall.
In the wild, it's around Amari's age that Gorillas head out to join a "troop" of gorillas, in order to start new families. Typically, troops consist of a male, multiple females, and their infant gorillas.
Amari will join a male gorilla named Willie B., Jr., who is 22-years-old and has been living with other bachelor gorillas. The other female gorillas in her troop come from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Kambera and Shalia.
The Buffalo Zoo shared that according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the population of wild-living western lowland gorillas has gone down by over 60 percent in the last 25 years.
The population has decreased due to "habitat loss, poaching, illegal hunting for the bushmeat trade, and emerging diseases."
In the Gorilla House here in Buffalo, she had been living with parents Koga and Sydney, her aunt Lilly, brother Kayin, and half-sister Nyah.
Visitors are still encouraged to come visit Amari's birth family in the Gorilla House. Currently, the zoo is operating under its winter hours: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Advanced reservations are required.
