A Surprise Announcement

February 5, 2013

Anya was given her first photo-op when her newly named daughter Amelia was shown to the public for the first time. Amelia was named in honor of the Safari Park’s senior curator, Dr. Amelia Terkel, who is retiring after 34 years of service.

The western lowland gorilla is an endangered species. It is thought that anywhere between 100,000 and 250,000 animals are living in the wild, with 550 animals registered in zoos around the world. Poaching, disease, and war have taken a big toll on the animals that live in the wild.

The Ramat Gan Safari Park has always been in the forefront of international breeding and conservation programs, thus in the same way that Lucas was sent to the Ramat Gan zoo, Israel may send some of their gorillas to other zoos after the animals reach maturity in about eight years time.

Source: Edgar Asher

Photo Credit: Юкатан/commons.wikimedia.org