Popular gorilla forms ‘bond with our guests’
Original inhabitant of Disney’s Animal Kingdom a crowd favorite, a medical pioneer
Gino is one of the elder statesmen of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. He’s also a silverback gorilla.
He’s a favorite of theme park visitors, who watch him interact with the family group at Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail and occasionally clap his chest. It’s dramatic.
“Everybody takes notice — his family, our guests, our cast, and it’s really quite spectacular,” said Dr. Scott Terrell, director of animal and science operations. “It’s a natural gorilla behavior. He’s just very good at it.”
Gino, weighing in at about 400 pounds, is an original inhabitant of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which opened in 1998. He turned 41 years old this week. He has 14 offspring, some living at Walt Disney World.
“He’s the ultimate parent, the ultimate dad, in that he plays. … But then he’s not afraid to step in if things start to get a little crazy,” Terrell said. “If the kids start to play a little rough or if mom starts to play a little rough, Gino will step in and sort of calm everything down.”
Disney’s gorillas are seen in open-air areas in the park, and one section has a glass divider to allow visitors close-up looks. Gino and company definitely notice the people there, said Kerri D’Ancicco, a Disney animal keeper. Gino might be considered a poser or at least Instagram-ready.
“He’s one of our original animals, so I think he’s very accustomed to seeing people,” she said. “He has, over the years, formed that kind of bond with our guests, and guests recognize him. … He is very aware of cameras. I think it’s just his laidback personality.”
Gino’s easygoing nature was an asset in Disney’s development of a method to check gorillas’ hearts without sedating them.
“Where he has pioneered, from a care perspective, has been his ability to participate in those cardiac exams without anesthesia,” Terrell said. Gino and others have been trained to strike and hold specific poses so that they can be examined through a safety divider backstage.
“Knowing those behaviors to allow an echocardiogram or ultrasonographer to do a detailed examination of his heart is pretty incredible,” Terrell said.
The company also considers Gino an ambassador for the Disney Conservation Fund, which supports the gorilla population in the Democratic Republic of Congo with medical, nutritional and animal-care advice, he said.
Gino’s day-to-day routine includes being awaked by the keepers, foraging through the habitat for food (he especially likes sweet potatoes, carrots and mangos, D’Ancicco said), training and enrichment programs and that interaction with Animal Kingdom guests. The gorillas go to bed around 5 p.m.
“Working with him is probably one of the highlights of my day,” D’Ancicco said. “It’s what I look forward to the most.”