Safe Haven

A game of tag is underway inside the gorilla exhibit at the Gladys Porter Zoo.

Two young gorillas, Harambe and Bangori, give chase and splash in the moat around the oasis. Harambi chases Bangori, then the tables turn.

A small crowd gathers to watch the playmates, two of 13 Western Lowland gorillas housed at the Brownsville zoo and recently added to a list of critically endangered species.

According to the zoo’s Web site, it has at least 40 endangered species that include Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, the Philippine crocodiles and the Western Lowland gorillas.

Western Lowland gorillas have been part of the zoo family since 1969, when the first of this kind of primate arrived here.

The World Conservation Union placed the African primate on its “red list” of endangered animals, a designation reserved for animals and plants threatened with extinction. The Smithsonian National Zoological Park estimates there are 375 Western Lowland Gorillas in the North American captivity and 110,000 in the wild

“It’s a big concern. Every one of them has got value,” said Jerry Stones, general curator at the Gladys Porter Zoo.

Stones refers to the gorillas as his children. He knows each one by name and they know him too. He’s raised nearly all the gorillas on exhibit at the zoo, bottle feeding many of them as they grew.

“I can go in with them” in the exhibit, Stones said admitting that he even dances once in awhile with Mary, another gorilla.

“She grabs my hands and then we start going around and around,” Stones said.

Gladys Porter is one of three zoos in Texas that has Western Lowland gorillas on exhibit. The others are in Dallas and Fort Worth.

In the wild, these gorillas have become victims to viruses, poachers and reforestation, according to The World Conservation Union.

“Their population has declined by more than 60 percent over the last 20-25 years, with about one-third of the total population found in protected areas killed by the Ebola virus over the last 15 years,” the IUCN states in a press release Sept. 12.

The zoo exhibit houses a baker’s dozen of the Western Lowlands and a 14th gorilla will be delivered here soon.

Lamydoc and Katanga were the first “wild caught” gorillas placed on exhibit at the zoo in 1969 and 1970. They are the last legally imported gorillas, brought from Africa.

Their ages are estimated at 44 and 43, respectively. The youngest gorilla on exhibit, a 1-year-old female, has not been named.

Officials here hope the gorilla’s plight will generate interest — and traffic to the zoo that’s struggling with recent financial shortfalls.

“People come to the zoo to see the gorillas and sometimes they just may not know that all of these problems exists in their homelands,” said Charlie Abrego, spokesman for the zoo.

“They see this and say, ‘Oh wow, there’s a whole bunch of them here,’” but they may not know these animals are endangered, Abrego said.

“They don’t know why it is important for zoos to have so much research and priority on gorillas ... people don’t know the whole conservation status and the reasons behind why they are so endangered.”

Proceeds from this year’s Zoofari will benefit the primate collection, Abrego said. The planning for Zoofari has been done way in advance before this month’s release of the gorillas’ status.

The zoo recently received $215,000 in funding from the City of Brownsville.