With the day of love right around the corner, London Zoo keepers decided to turn up the romance for their gorillas Kiburi, Mjukuu, and Effie.
The zookeepers are hoping that the Western Lowland gorillas, two girls and a boy, will eventually find a love match.
To aid the process, they treated the three zoo residents to Valentine’s Day treats. They filled heart-shaped piñatas with tasty vegetables and nutritious greens, including sweet potato, cucumbers, and sweetcorn.
These sort of treats are often given to London Zoo animals to mark special occasions like Christmas and Easter. However, there is a lot more riding on these piñatas as Kiburi, the 18-year-old silverback is a fairly new addition to the zoo.
He was brought in back in November 2022 as a part of the European breeding programme for critically endangered species.
Kiburi has been settling in and getting to know his enclosure friends, Effie and Mjukuu, since then.
Now, all zookeepers can do is sit and wait, hoping for them to get on well enough to have babies and help the continuation of their species.
Talking about it, gorilla keeper Jo Barnes said: “Kiburi is definitely the strong silent type, and the girls have been working hard to get his attention - but it’s clear he has developed a real affection for Mjukuu and Effie.
“We’ve spotted them grooming him and Mjukuu, the dominant female, is often caught gazing lovingly at Kiburi - all really good signs that they’re big fans of the strapping, 181kg new gorilla in their life. All being well, we hope it won’t be long before we hear the pitter-patter of baby gorilla feet!”
Out in nature, Western Lowland gorillas live in central Africa’s dense and remote rainforests. But, as their habitat gets destroyed, human-spread diseases take over and threats of poaching continue to rise, their wild population has taken hit after hit.
London Zoo and the Zoological Society of London (ZLS) are working to protect them by taking part in this breeding programme while working with people in central Africa to protect the wild gorillas.
