Check Him Out: SF Zoo's New Male Gorilla Cecil Makes His Public Debut This Weekend

"After months with no male gorillas in their troop, the San Francisco Zoo is set to introduce a 26-year-old male silverback gorilla named Cecil on Saturday, with high hopes that baby gorillas may soon follow his arrival. There was great sadness, and a few uncomfortable questions, when the San Francisco Zoo's last remaining male Oscar Jonesy suddenly died in February. The 43-year-old western lowland gorilla was under anesthesia when he passed, which is not normally considered a risk for gorilla fatality."

"Though right before this year's July 4 weekend, we learned that the SF Zoo would be getting a new male gorilla, a 26-year-old male silverback western lowland gorilla named Cecil. Cecil actually arrived at the zoo in early August, by way of the Louisville (Kentucky) Zoo, but the SF Zoo's gorilla habitat has been closed to the public to give Cecil a chance to familiarize himself with the three resident females."

"Since his arrival from the Louisville Zoo in early August, 26-year-old male silverback gorilla Cecil, has been acclimating to his new home and getting to know his new family troop, the zoo said in a Wednesday afternoon Facebook post. We wanted to make sure he [and the females] Bawang, Kimani and Monifa, were given plenty of time - and at their own pace for introductions, before opening up the Jones Family Gorilla Preserve to visitors."

The San Francisco Zoo will introduce 26-year-old silverback gorilla Cecil to visitors when the Jones Family Gorilla Preserve reopens Saturday. Cecil arrived in early August from the Louisville Zoo and has been acclimating to the three resident females, Bawang, Kimani and Monifa, with introductions staged at the animals' own pace. The zoo closed the habitat to allow the troop to become familiar before public viewing. Oscar Jonesy, the zoo's previous male, died suddenly under anesthesia in February, raising concerns because no fatal illness had been apparent. A city report also described the zoo as unsafe for animals, and a 2014 hydraulic-door accident killed 16-month-old Kabibe.

Read at sfist.com