After months with no male gorillas in their troop, the San Francisco Zoo is set to introduce a 26-year-old male silverback gorilla named Cecil on Saturday, with high hopes that baby gorillas may soon follow his arrival.  

There was great sadness, and a few uncomfortable questions, when the San Francisco Zoo’s last remaining male Oscar Jonesy suddenly died in February. The 43-year-old western lowland gorilla was under anesthesia when he passed, which is not normally considered a risk for gorilla fatality. Though right before this year’s July 4 weekend, we learned that the SF Zoo would be getting a new male gorilla, a 26-year-old male silverback western lowland gorilla named Cecil.

Cecil actually arrived at the zoo in early August, by way of the Louisville (Kentucky) Zoo, but the SF Zoo’s gorilla habitat has been closed to the public to give Cecil a chance to familiarize himself with the three resident females. That changes this weekend, as KTVU reports that Cecil will make his public debut Saturday when the gorilla habitat reopens to the public.

“​​Since his arrival from the Louisville Zoo in early August, 26-year-old male silverback gorilla Cecil, has been acclimating to his new home and getting to know his new family troop,” the zoo said in a Wednesday afternoon Facebook post. “We wanted to make sure he [and the females] Bawang, Kimani and Monifa, were given plenty of time - and at their own pace – for introductions, before opening up the Jones Family Gorilla Preserve to visitors. We thank you for your patience and support.”

We cannot gloss over concerns over Oscar Jonesy’s highly unusual death in February. He had shown no signs of fatal illness, and of course, this is the same San Francisco Zoo that a city report last year had described as “unsafe” for animals. Meanwhile, some of you will recall the 2014 death of 16-month old baby gorilla Kabibe when she was crushed by a hydraulic door.

And to put it lightly, it has not been a great year or so for the San Francisco Zoo.

The SF Zoo seems to realize they carry that baggage, even if they don’t admit it directly.

"We feel like this is a new day for the zoo. And Cecil is kinda the beginning of the new day for the zoo,” zoologist Robbie Graham told KGO. “So, we're really excited to see him get along with the females and hopefully we'll get some baby gorillas in the next few years.”

Wow, no pressure there! But we gladly join the zoo in applying that pressure, as we remember the joyful frenzy this town went into when that baby gorilla Kabibe was born here in 2013.

Related: SF Zoo’s Relentlessly Adorable Red Panda ‘Tenzing’ Has Died [SFist]

Image: San Francisco Zoo via Facebook

San Francisco and the SF Zoo’s gorilla preserve are mourning Thursday's death of 43-year-old Western Lowland gorilla Oscar Jonesy, who died unexpectedly following a medical procedure.

The San Francisco Zoo’s gorilla preserve has had local legend great ape Oscar Jonesy as its alpha male since 2004. Oscar was born July 31, 1981 at the Buffalo Zoo in New York, and made his way to the SF Zoo in 2004. In his time here, he fathered many gorilla young ‘uns, and captivated zoo visitors for more than 20 years. But the Chronicle has the news that Oscar Jonesy died Thursday, while recovering from anesthesia after some sort of medical procedure. He was 43.

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“Oscar was the third-oldest male of his species in any U.S. zoo, and I know many cared about him deeply. I know I did,” SF Zoo CEO and executive director Tanya Peterson said in an email to zoo supporters obtained by the Chronicle. “I have watched him resolve conflicts among his troops, witnessed his strength and tenderness, and have been humbled by his empathy and intelligence.”

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It has not been disclosed exactly what sort of medical procedure the Western Lowland gorilla was undergoing. But the procedure was considered successful at the time, and Oscar simply became unresponsive while coming out of anesthesia.  

“Oscar’s procedure originally went well,” the zoo’s chief veterinarian Dr. Adrian Mutlow told KGO. “But despite showing initial signs of recovery, he suddenly became unresponsive and stopped breathing. We responded immediately but even with the assistance of critical care specialists from Stanford, we were unable to revive him.”

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The exact cause of death is still unknown. The UC Davis Veterinary School is expected to perform a necropsy on him Saturday.

But we can frankly expect some questions are going to be asked of the zoo, considering recent audits that described the facility as “unsafe” for animals. Many will recall the 2014 death of Oscar’s daughter Kabine when that 16-month-old baby gorilla was crushed to death by a hydraulic door. That incident had zoo staff and management openly trading barbs about who was at fault. The US Department of Agriculture fined the zoo $1,750 for the incident, a dollar amount that animal rights advocates considered ridiculously low.

There will certainly be a time for those recriminations, if the recriminations should be merited. For now, Oscar is survived by three females in his troop: Bawang, Monifa and Kimani. The zoo’s vice president of animal care Dominick Dorsa told KRON4 that those females would be monitored “as they go through a mourning period.”

Related: Cherished 39-Year-Old Western Lowland Gorilla Dies at SF Zoo [SFist]

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Zura, the San Francisco Zoo's beloved Western lowland gorilla — who was the granddaughter of the first-ever gorilla born in captivity — passed away before the weekend at almost 40 years old.

Western lowland gorillas are one of our closest living relatives, sharing about 98% of our own genetic makeup. But the bushmeat trade, rampant deforestation, and human-contracted illnesses have decimated their populations in central and West Africa; only about 100,000 remain in the world — a 60% population decline from their numbers 25 years ago.

And Zura, the city zoo's much-loved female Western lowland gorilla, was one of only a handful of the primates ever successfully born and reared in captivity. But due to chronic digestive issues that recently worsened, SF Zoo officials announced she perished yesterday.

"It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Zura, 39-year-old female Western lowland gorilla," writes the local zoological facility in a tweet Friday. "She was a favorite for generations of families & animal care staff alike since her arrival in 1982. Her beautiful, distinctive face & sassy personality will truly be missed."

Zura came to San Francisco in 1982 from the Columbus Zoo, where her grandmother was Colo — she being regarded as the first gorilla born in captivity. At the zoo, she lived to 60 years old before dying of old age in 2017; most gorillas in the wild live between 35 and 40 years, but the easy access to food, water, and shelter (and medical attention) in captivity means they can live decades longer than possible in their natural habitats.

Zura, even into her old age, remained a "one-of-a-kind personality."

“Zura had a beautiful, distinctive face and a one-of-a-kind personality, and so many of our guests recognized her when they visited,” said CEO and Executive Director of San Francisco Zoological Society Tanya M. Peterson in a statement to KPIX. “As one of our older females, she lived among different generations of our gorilla troop, from the great silverback, ‘Bwana’ to our gentle, contemplative silverback, ‘OJ.’ She will be missed by all of us.”

Though she never mothered any offspring of her own, Zura was an "auntie"  to many of the group's young gorillas.

Her passing leaves the San Francisco Zoo's Jones Family Gorilla Preserve with a troop — which is the name given to a group of gorillas — that numbers four Western lowland gorillas, an adult male silverback and three adult females.

Currently, there are four recognized subspecies of gorillas — Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), cross river gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli), Eastern lowland gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri), and mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) the subspecies Diane Fossey helped elevate to widespread notoriety — and each is threatened by human activity and could disappear this century without adequate conservation practices and policy changes.

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Photos: SF Zoo Celebrates Easter With Treats For the Animals

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Famed sign-language-learning gorilla Koko, a onetime friend to Robin Williams, has been living in a private sanctuary down in Woodside for decades under the care of The Gorilla Foundation, alongside her male partner Ndume. This past winter, as we learn from a GoFundMe campaign, while much the Bay Area was inundated with torrential rains, the roof over the gorillas' sleeping quarters and play yard both sustained damage enough that they need replacing before the next rainy season comes. Koko and Ndume's caregivers are therefore seeking $35,000 in donations to replace both roofs, expenses they say were "not anticipated in our annual budget."

Last we heard from Koko, she was learning to play bass with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, and in the fall of 2015 we saw her picking out a couple of new kitten "babies" to take care of.

She remains under the care of Penny Patterson, the same former Stanford researcher who began conducting her sign-language experiments with Koko back in the early 1970's. Though other researchers have tried to challenge some of Patterson's claims about Koko's knowledge of language, which she asserts is greater than that of any other non-human primate. Patterson says that Koko understands about 2,000 words of spoken English, and knows 1,000 signs.

The fundraising effort is well underway to put a new roof over Koko and Ndume's heads, with plans to start construction this month. As of today they've raised almost $27,000 of the $35,000 goal.

Below, a short video of Ndume running to safety in a rainstorm without getting his hands muddy.

Previously: Video: Watch Koko The Gorilla With Her New Kitten 'Babies'

Not even two days old and San Francisco's own western lowland gorilla princess is already learning how to deal with life as one of the offspring of an incredibly important bloodline (endangered gorillas, that is).

OJ and Nneka's daughter was born around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, weighing 5 pounds and 1 ounce. (Your associate editor, by comparison, weighed a hefty 9 pounds and 4 ounces at birth, according to a text message conversation with his mother.)

Friday morning, Zookeepers snapped this photo of the new baby girl sticking her nose right in the camera and briefly stealing the spotlight from other notable zoo babies like these penguins, this giraffe calf and (of course) Jillian the tiger cub. We guess she takes after her father that way. Gorillas, they're just like us!

Previously: Welcome To The World, San Francisco Zoo's Baby Gorilla!

Cementing the San Francisco Zoo's reputation as a world-class destination for looking at baby animals, 14-year-old western lowland gorilla Nnenka brought this 5-pound, 1-ounce hairy little bundle of joy into the world Wednesday afternoon.

The Jones Family gorilla preserve will be closed for at least the next few days while the new girl, who doesn't have a name yet, gets to spending some quality time with her folks and integrating with the rest of the troop. Shortly after her birth at 2 p.m. yesterday, the newborn quickly proceeded to drink a whole bunch and then pass out.

The father is the 31-year-old, 330-pound silverback gorilla Oscar "OJ" Jonesy. Apparently none of the other gorillas in the whoop thought it was odd that he was seeing a woman less than half his age, but the couple is known as the "Royal Family" around the Zoo, so they're sort of like a primate version of Will & Kate. The mother reportedly had a easy pregnancy that she spent eating potatoes and romaine lettuce. Zoo keepers also figured out they could use apple sauce instead of cold ultrasound gel so she could get a snack while receiving her periodic checkups. (Take note, human OB/GYNs.)

In fact, Nneka's name means "mother is supreme" in Obo, but she had to wait for OJ to give her the sign that it was OK to take care of the baby. OJ, for his part, is turning out to be quite the stud around the preserve, especially for a guy from Columbus, Ohio. In 2008, he fathered a four-year-old male gorilla named Hasani to a different mother.

Here's what the Zoo has to say about the critically endangered western lowland gorilla (scientific name: Gorilla gorilla gorilla):

Western lowland gorillas are the smallest of the four gorilla subspecies with a brownish-grey coat with red highlights. Adult males have silver-colored fur on their backs and legs, which is the origin of the name silverback. They are herbivores and enjoy plant-based diets that include fruit, vegetables, leaf-based browse, bark, grain and tubers. They live in family groups called troops averaging four to six members that are led by a dominant older male and consist of multiple females, juveniles and young males. Females begin reproduction at age nine or ten and do not produce many offspring. Female gorillas have a pregnancy term of nearly nine months and usually give birth to one infant. The infant will be held by its mother or ride on her back for approximately one year.

The actual number of gorillas in the wild is unknown, since they can live in some pretty remote rainforest regions. According to the World Wildlife Fund, their biggest threats are poaching, habitat destruction and diseases such as the Ebola virus. have contributed to the decline of the species by 60 percent over the past 25 years. There are currently 342 western lowland gorillas at 53 AZA-accredited zoos North America.

Previously: All Adorable Things coverage on SFist