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Gorillas in our midst Primates at the Bronx zoo show off to benefit distant cousins By Shant Shahrigian sshah@riverdalepress.com
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Photos by Adrian Fussell
A YOUNG VISITOR reflected in the glass of the Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit is as interesting to a male gorilla as he is to her.
A RED RIVER HOG scans the ground for food in his realistically constructed zoo environment.
A SOLITARY MANDRILL takes a stroll amid lush plantings in the Congo exhibit.
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A WOLF MONKEY enjoys a snack while lounging on his favorite log.
f you buy the idea that we are because we think, where does that place our fellow primates? The Bronx Zoo has bestowed human names on some of the animals at its sublime Congo Gorilla Forest. There’s a group of bachelor gorillas — Jobari, Babatunde, Barraca and M’domo — and a family including silverback Ernie, his mates Julia, Kumi, Layla and Tuti and their offspring. Is Ernie only an Ernie to the degree he cogitates like us? Would you say his smaller brain, about a third the size of a human’s, bars the possibility of selfhood for him? Or is something else entirely at play? One way or another, visiting the zoo’s engrossing Congo exhibit is likely to give you renewed appreciation for some of our closest cousins in the animal kingdom. The trip costs $5 on top of admission to the zoo, with the proceeds going to international preservation efforts by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the institution at 2300 Southern Blvd. The society says the exhibit has raised $12.5 million since opening in 1999. After the rustic, canopied entrance to the 6.5-acre exhibit, the first animals to greet visitors are long-tailed colobus monkeys. On a recent morning, the zoo’s inhabitants seemed to be at their ease ambling along branches and munching on fruit. Down the path, there are some non-simian specimens. You might think a pair of okapis, quadrapeds with striking horizontal stripes on their legs, are related to zebras. But if you pay close attention to their feeding, in which they stick out long, lithe tongues, you will notice the resemblance to their actual closest relatives, giraffes. Down the way, there are magnificent mandrills, a relative of the baboon whose males are known for vibrant colors on its face and lower parts, red river hogs, which seem like a fantastical version of the variety more familiar to North Americans, and an indoor house of reptiles that are native to the Congo River. The mandrills and hogs share the same turf, part of the zoo’s attempt to create multi-species exhibits instead of showcasing animals in isolation. The crowning feature of the show comes at the very end. Wide windows open onto two troops of gorillas, the group of bachelors and the family. The customary gorilla social unit is actually known as a “harem,” featuring one silverback male and several females. On an Aug. 21 visit, the bachelors mostly stuck to themselves while munching on kale and getting exercise. Minutes later, the harem made its debut on a separate side of the exhibit. Julia and Tuti, who gave birth in April, and Layla and Kumi, who bore offspring in January, strolled with babies on their backs or gamboling beside them. Then came Ernie, the alpha male. He picked up a few pieces of fruit and perched in the shade of a tree, his massive stomach jutting out. He seemed like the portrait of equipoise while his progeny scampered around him. Visitors oohed and awed at the unfolding scene. One girl tried to guess which of the baby gorillas was oldest. A sign noted the animals like to get the attention of guests, although they mostly interacted with one another that morning. It seemed hard to deny that the noble animals are because they think. The Bronx Zoo is located at 2300 Southern Blvd. and open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and until 5:30 p.m. on weekends through October, with slightly reduced hours in November to March. Tickets including admission to the Congo Gorilla Forest cost $33.95 for adults, $26.05 for seniors and $21.55 for children at the gate, with lower prices online. Children 2 and under enter for free. For more information, visit www.bronxzoo.org.