“craves human interaction,” Maxe Anaclet Makaba said of Jojo.
Staff members at Gabon’s Lekedi Foundation sanctuary try to find a companion for Jojo, an adult male gorilla who lacked company since his relocation from a private zoo.
Captured when he was less than a year old, Jojo was sold to a private zoo in Gabon. He was kept completely alone in a tiny cage on public display.
Most gorillas spend the first fourteen to nineteen years of their life in an embedded family unit. Jojo spent almost all of his childhood isolated from other members of his species.
In 2015, at the age of 11, Jojo stepped onto grass for the first time. More than a decade has passed since his transfer to the sanctuary. He has continued to live without other gorillas, having neither a gorilla family nor friends of his own species.
Head caretaker Maxe Anakle Makaba sees Jojo nearly every day. Makaba said that the ape seeks out contact with people, including by collecting leaves to exchange for treats.
“He will even go to the trouble of gathering leaves for us to hold, so that we trade them for a treat,” Makaba said. “Because being alone is like being cut off from the world – it’s like being in prison. Having another gorilla there would be a good thing for him.”
“Being connected to others is incredibly important to our psychology as great apes,” Forrester said. Forrester added, “Having another individual to share his life with would be so healing for him. I would assume other gorillas would help him process this grief and trauma.”
Because he is already fully grown, specialists warn that attempting to introduce a companion could introduce extra anxiety for Jojo. Matching him with someone is far from simple.
Caretakers are considering placing another rescued animal or a zoo-born gorilla with him. They may choose a compatible female or a compatible male.
Introductions would be carried out gradually. Caretakers plan to use objects carrying the scent of another gorilla.
