Brookfield Zoo visitors can see new gorilla 'Jontu'
Brookfield, Ill. — Visitors at Brookfield Zoo can now meet their newest addition.
Jontu, a 26-year-old western lowland gorilla, arrived last month from the St. Louis Zoo. The zoo says he's since been getting used to his new surroundings behind the scenes.
Jontu was given access to the Tropic World: Africa habitat the past few weeks - which was closed to the public - to allow him time to get more comfortable.
The nearly 500-pound ape joins five other gorillas including Binti, 35, Koola, 28, Kamba,18, Nora, 9, and Ali, 4.
"Guests may notice Jontu, sitting away from the others a lot of the time, but he is very attentive and aware of where other members of the troop are and monitors them, always looking out for their best interest," said Tim Sullivan, interim director of primate care.
Western lowland gorillas are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. This is due to commercial hunting for the bushmeat trade, diseases such as the Ebola virus, as well as the illegal pet trade, and habitat destruction from logging.
It is estimated that there are around 300,000 western lowland gorillas found in swamps and dry lowland forests throughout Western Equatorial Africa, and 320 western lowland gorillas living in accredited North American zoos.
Guests can visit Jontu between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. but he will eventually be seen during regular zoo hours.