Kansas City Zoo About
Volunteer
Employment
Hours Pricing Directions Tickets
9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. weekdays; 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. weekends. Call 816.513.5800 for more information.
Early morning opening of 8 a.m. begins on Saturday, May 25; opening at 8 a.m. through Labor Day.
Plan Your Visit Animals & Events Education Programs Friends of the Zoo Donate
Search




Western Lowland Gorilla

  • Range: Native to Africa (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon). They are endangered.
  • Habitat: Rain Forests with dense herbage and bushy undergrowth, also in secondary forest and in vicinity of plantations.
  • Height: Males up to 6 feet tall; females to 5 feet tall.
  • Weight: Males, approx. 450 pounds, females, 150 to 250 pounds. Gorillas are the largest and most robust of all primates.
  • Diet: Purely vegetarian and consists of leaves, shoots, stalks, roots, tubers, bark, fruits. Because of their juicy diet, drinking water is not necessary.
  • Behavior: Gorillas establish and re-enforce social bonds by social grooming. Each animal makes its own bed, but young sleep with mothers. Gorillas can live to 25 to 30 years in the wild. Our gorillas range in age from 13 to 36. Our gorillas paint also! Radi, Wanto and Ntondo are especially fond of it. They receive flu shots voluntarily -- not an easy feat without training.
  • Location: Found in the Gorilla Exhibit in the African Forest. The Zoo houses seven western lowland gorillas: Wanto, Radi, Mbundi, Ntondo, Tufani, Makena and Makari

At The Zoo

The Kansas City Zoo is home to three groupings of Gorillas. Radi a 29 year old silverback is paired with three females Makena(13), Makari (26), and Tufani (21) they can be seen on exhibit together. Makari has been brought to the Kansas City Zoo to hopefully breed with Radi.

Mbundi and Ntondo are 19 year old half-brothers, and are exhibited together. Wanto is a solitary 36 year old silverback and exhibited by himself.

Our staff contributes to ongoing zoological industry studies. We contribute with tissue & fluid analysis, behavioral observations, and some medical information. Family groups of gorillas are better known, but females are less abundant in captivity, so more information is needed on bachelor groupings.

Photos


Adopt a Wild Child!

Keep these bachelors in prime-ate living conditions by adopting one today! Or look at our list of adoptees and select an animal of your choice!

Click here to learn more about the Adopt a Wild Child program.

Elephants can paint?


Elephants use their trunks to communicate, eat, and…paint?
Learn More...