Meet Ndjia, LA's New Gorilla

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles Zoo has a famous new resident, and, with any luck, another new star will be born at the zoo before long.

The zoo welcomed the addition of a critically endangered western lowland gorilla from the San Diego Zoo this week. Ndjia, a 24-year-old female, was brought to the zoo in hopes that she will mate with Kelly, the resident silverback. The lowland gorilla is threatened with extinction due to illegal hunting, and any offspring between Ndjia and Kelly would provided a measure of genetic diversity to the remaining population as part of a Species Survival Plan.

“What a spitfire!” said Nancy Bunn, senior animal keeper at the Los Angeles Zoo. “Ndjia may be smaller than the others, but she sure has spunk. In the short time that Ndjia has joined us, she quickly learned to navigate her way within this family group. I believe her captivating personality, along with the other gorillas, is sure to engage visitors and ultimately ignite a desire to learn more about their conservation story in the wild.”

It’s the first time Ndjia has ever been placed in a breeding situation, and it is the Zoo’s hope that Ndjia and the Kelly, will take a liking to each other, said zoo officials. The species is critically endangered due to illegal hunting, disease such as the Ebola virus, and habitat degradation and destruction.

“Despite the fact that all killing, capture, and consumption of great apes is illegal, hunting for bushmeat is the primary reason for the Western gorilla’s decline, according to zoo spokeswoman April Spurlock. Another threat to the gorilla is the mining of the electronic component Coltan in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Zoo visitors can donate old and unused cell phones at the zoo to encourage recycling rather than mining.

Photos courtesy of the LA Zoo.