Zoo celebrates special day for Kala
BRISTOL Zoo Gardens’ newest arrival, Kala the gorilla, is celebrating her eighth birthday today.
Kala, who arrived from Germany’s Hannover Zoo in October, will be enjoying the day with her new family of western lowland gorillas.
Keepers at the zoo have spent the past weeks helping Kala get used to her new surroundings.
She was first introduced to Jock, the 28-stone silverback in a series of meetings lasting from a few minutes to a couple of hours. Kala was very keen on Jock from day one and once the pair relaxed in each other’s company they were kept together 24 hours a day.
Then she met the other six gorillas including the youngest, Afia, who is almost 3, and 20-month-old Ayana.
This has meant the Gorilla House being closed at certain times so the gorillas could get to know each other away from the public.
Sarah Gedman, mammal team leader keeper, said: “Introducing a new gorilla to the rest of the troop had to be done carefully and at their own pace.
“It was as much a change for the gorillas already here as it was for Kala and we had to ensure that they all felt comfortable with each other.”
Kala has come to Bristol on the recommendation of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme, managed by EAZA (the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria).