BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Buffalo Zoo announced Amari the gorilla has left and will join Zoo Atlanta to start a family of her own.
The zoo says it has teamed up with Zoo Atlanta (Atlanta, Ga.) and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (Columbus, Ohio) to form a new gorilla troop at Zoo Atlanta.
Amari is a 10-year-old Western lowland gorilla, she was born at the Buffalo Zoo in 2010. She will join a 22-year-old male gorilla named Willie B., Jr., and two female gorillas, Kambera and Shalia, from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Atlanta.
"Amari’s joining a new troop mimics the natural behavior of gorillas in the wild. Around her age, female gorillas are in their peak reproductive years and become part of troops and begin families of their own. Western lowland gorillas live in groups typically consisting of a silverback male and several adult females and their offspring," a release from the zoo says.
Amari’s parents Koga and Sydney, her aunt Lilly, brother Kayin, and half-sister Nyah will remain in Buffalo.
“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. We’re making a difference and enhancing the long-term survival for Western lowland gorillas and many other critically endangered species,” said Norah Fletchall, President and CEO, Buffalo Zoo.
