In honor of Thanksgiving, we wanted to say how THANKFUL we are for everyone who has been following Kindi’s Journey with us these 36 weeks!
Kweli and Kindi. Photo courtesy of Jacob Zimmer, Zymage.com
Together, we have watched Kindi grow from an orphaned infant gorilla hand raised by our Gorilla Forest care team, into a thriving playful gorilla with a devoted surrogate gorilla mother. We are so proud of Kindi’s progress. Kindi’s strength continues to grow and she has become more mobile. She is engaging in more climbing play and increasingly exploring under gorilla mother Kweli’s careful supervision. She also shows an increased interest in interacting with Gorilla Forest visitors. Though Kindi and Kweli still do not have scheduled viewing times yet (as they are spending time bonding and learning about each other), you may catch a glimpse of them in Gorilla Forest from time to time. We are thankful for the patience and positivity of our guests while we continue this process.
Kindi. Photo courtesy of Jacob Zimmer, Zymage.com
We are also grateful that Kindi’s Journey has allowed us to bring you important stories about the plight of primates from our well-vetted wildlife conservation partners like PASA (Pan African Sanctuary Alliance) and Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. We are delighted to be able to share these success stories and serve as the facilitator and the engaging connector for many people to support conservation who would love to help but need a less complicated approach to participate in a meaningful way.
Just by visiting the Zoo, you support critical conservation efforts both within the Zoo in and in the field. Did you know 25 cents from every general admission ticket and $1 from every membership is contributed to conservation efforts? We are proud to have raised $77,000 toward wildlife partners like PASA, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, International Elephant Foundation, Polar Bears International, Snow Leopard Trust, and Wildlife Conservation Society during the last 12-month period starting in July.
Finally, we are especially thankful for our sponsor Baptist Health for enabling us to bring you these exciting updates about Kindi, conservation insights and tips for your little ones as they grow.
Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you enjoy time with your family and friends today —and these precious photos and videos of Kindi and Kweli!
Visit Kindi’s Journey for previous videos, blogs, and scrapbooks