Zoo hosts goodbye party for beloved ape
The Franklin Park Zoo bid a fond farewell yesterday to Okpara, a 24-yearold male Western lowland gorilla affectionately called “Okie,” that will be shipped off to what zoo officials and a gorilla survival program hope will be more fertile pastures.
Okie is headed to the Audubon Zoo in Louisiana in the hopes he will start his own family there.
Yesterday, zoogoers were treated to cake as they said goodbye to Okie. Among them was Livia Topper, 6, of Newton, who wrote “Good Luck” on a card.
Okie could be seen gripping a slightly ripped goodbye banner that was at one point hung up with streamers and balloons.
The ape, known for banging on the glass windows, seemed willing to pose for pictures inside his enclosure.
Okie’s move is part of the zoo’s participation in the national Gorilla Species Survival Plan, an interzoo program aimed at ensuring the survival of the species. That program includes 51 zoos across the country, and is charged with increasing the population and ensuring the survival of gorillas in captivity. Many other groups, including the Franklin Park Zoo, work to increase the population of gorillas in the wild.
Western lowland gorillas are considered critically endangered in the wild. They’re found in Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Congo, Angola, Central African Republic and Nigeria.