Buffalo Zoo Celebrates “Ape-ril” on Zooper Saturday, April 7, 2012

Go bananas over the Buffalo Zoo’s Western lowland gorilla troop during the Zooper Saturday Ape-ril Event, which is being held on April 7 from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.!

                The event is free with Zoo admission. Highlights of the event include raffles as well as enrichment activities for the Zoo’s gorillas—Koga (the troop’s silverback) and females, Lily, Sidney and baby, Amari. Proceeds from the raffles will benefit the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), which helps to promote gorilla conservation.

                Visitors who donate old cell phones at the front gate during this event will also receive $1 off regular Zoo admission per cell phone. The cell phones will be collected through the Eco-Cell program. Designed to gather unused cell phones for refurbishment and recycling purposes, the program also helps wildlife in the Congo. Columbite-tantalite (coltan), a metallic ore found in the region, is used in cell phones and other electronic devices. Illegal mining for the ore is occurring in protected areas, and miners are overrunning national parks while also hunting the parks’ endangered elephants and gorillas for food. In addition to protecting these animals, the program also benefits the Buffalo Zoo. Eco-Cell pays the Zoo up to $15 per working digital phone, and this money is added to the Zoo’s Cars for Conservation fund, which helps to support conservation projects worldwide.

                The event schedule is as follows:

11:00 a.m.               Gorilla feeding

12:00 p.m.               Enrichment for the gorillas

1:00 p.m.                 Gorilla feeding

1:00 p.m. –             Crafts and raffles

2:45 p.m. (Raffle tickets are 1 for $1 or 3 for $2.)

2:00 p.m.                 Enrichment for the gorillas

2:45 p.m.                 Raffle drawing closes; winners announced

                                (You do not have to be present to win.)

3:00 p.m.                 Gorilla feeding

                For more information about the Zoo’s Ape-ril event, please call (716) 995-6133 or visit www.buffalozoo.org. 

BUFFALO ZOO’S STATEMENT ON SILVERBACK GORILLA

Just before 11:00 a.m., Koga, the Buffalo Zoo’s 24-year-old silverback gorilla, accessed the animal keeper aisle, located in a secure non-public area behind the gorilla exhibit. The keeper, who was servicing the area, sustained superficial bite wounds on her right hand and left calf. For safety, the keeper locked herself in one of the holding cages with Sidney, a 14-year-old gorilla, and her one-and-a-half-year-old baby, Amari, who both know the keeper well.

The keeper alerted the animal escape team. Protocols were in place and meticulously followed.

Visitors were escorted into safe areas. The Buffalo Zoo’s veterinary team immobilized Koga and placed him back into his holding area.

The keeper was treated onsite for her injuries and was transported to the hospital for further evaluation.

“In this emergency situation, we experienced the best possible outcome thanks to the training and professionalism of the Buffalo Zoo staff, as well as members of the Buffalo Police Department, especially the SWAT team,” said Dr. Donna M. Fernandes, Buffalo Zoo President/CEO.

The Buffalo Zoo reopened to the public at 1:00 p.m. Koga will be off exhibit for the remainder of the day.

About the Buffalo Zoo’s Four Western Lowland Gorillas:

Koga was born at the Bronx Zoo. He was transferred to the Memphis Zoo in 1994, where he was exhibited with a group of four bachelors. He arrived at the Buffalo Zoo on April 25, 2007 to join the Zoo’s four female gorillas, Kwizera, Becky, Lily and Sidney, who had been without a silverback since the Zoo’s silverback, Omega, passed away in 2005.  Koga’s transfer from Memphis to Buffalo was recommended as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is designed to help a species maintain a stable, healthy and genetically diverse population in zoos.

On October 8, 2010, Buffalo Zoo staff welcomed baby, Amari, into their family. Amari was born to first-time parents, mother, Sidney, who was born at the Buffalo Zoo in 1997, and Koga.

Sidney, Amari and Koga now reside with Lily, who was born at the Buffalo Zoo in 2000