Animal Update — Jelani is World Famous!

jelaniDid you see the video of 18-year-old silverback Jelani — who calls your Louisville Zoo’s Gorilla Forest home?

Jelani’s youtube video has now received more than 5.7 million views!  People from all over the world are watching the video and engaging in conversation about African primate conservation. We’re thrilled with the opportunity to talk with Zoo visitors about conservation efforts here and in the remnant wild.

Your Zoo provides daily care to thousands of vulnerable, threatened and endangered animals and works globally to ensure the earth and the animals that live here will thrive for generations to come. We know that you value and care about our planet. Your gift — of any amount — to your Zoo’s Annual Fund will support the daily food, healthcare and enrichment of Gorillas and all of our animals, as well as strengthen our very important species conservation efforts.

Did you know that 25 cents from every Louisville Zoo general admission ticket and 50 cents from every membership goes to conservation? Just by visiting the Zoo or becoming a member, you play an important part in helping vital conservation efforts around the world. One of our wildlife partners is the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, who works to protect primates throughout Africa.

What else can you do  to help with gorilla conservation efforts? E-cycle with the Zoo! According to the EPA, more than 130 million cell phones will go out of use this year. That’s over 65,000 tons of electronic garbage that could end up in our landfills. In exchange for electronic items collected at the Zoo, our program partner, Eco-Cell, will donate funds to the Zoo to support conservation and your items will stay out of landfills. Items we can accept include: Cell phones, Smartphones, accessories, iPods, iPads, WIFI cards, circuit boards, laptops, digital cameras, gameboys, GPS, rechargeable batteries, MP3, earbuds, and chargers and cords

Some Fun Facts about Gorillas (including your pals at the Louisville Zoo!)

  • Gorillas are the largest members of the primate family. Our largest gorilla is Kicho, who weighs 400 lbs
  • Our oldest gorilla is Helen, who at 56 is one of the oldest known gorillas.
  • Gorillas are vegetarians but occasionally eat insects. Their large bellies contain enlarged intestines for processing vegetation
  • Gorillas have an opposable big toe as well as opposable thumbs, and have gorilingerprints and toe prints which can be used to identify them.
  • Jelani, one of the males in our bachelor troop, enjoys painting and also likes to look at cell phone pictures and videos and will often indicate when he is ready to look at the next picture.
  • Gorillas can be silly sometimes — Bengati likes to jump and clap his hands and Demba seems to take great joy in spinning in circles with her head tilted up and a silly look on her face.gorilla