The recently closed paleontology exhibition attracted over 46,000 visitors in a month and a half.Continue reading
Two western lowland gorillas have arrived at the Nyíregyháza Zoo as part of the European Endangered Species Breeding Program.
Western lowland gorillas have lived at the zoo in Sóstógyógyfürdő since 2010, and until 2024, two males shared the same enclosure system. One member of the bachelor group, the 28-year-old Bubu, was transferred to a zoo in Brazil last year.
His companion, the 28-year-old Djumbah, recently received two females: 21-year-old Makena and 10-year-old Akiba, who arrived from the Barcelona Zoo just a few weeks ago,
said László Gajdos, the zoo’s director. He added that the mother-daughter pair have now taken over their new enclosure and are getting acquainted with the “silverback” male.
Gorillas are the largest great apes; males can be up to 180 centimeters tall and weigh as much as 250 kilograms, while females are much smaller, weighing up to 100 kilograms. There is a strong sexual dimorphism, with males also having a bony ridge along their skulls that distinguishes them. There are two species of gorilla, western and eastern, each with two subspecies. They live in family groups, led by a strong, experienced “silverback” male whose role is to father offspring and protect the group.
Gorillas are strict vegetarians, primarily feeding on leaves, buds, and roots, and they do not consume animal-based food in the wild. Their social lives are very complex: typically, a dominant male lives with females and their offspring in a harem. Many zoos help with the conservation program by housing male gorillas.
On the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, the species is classified as critically endangered, with habitat destruction and poaching rapidly diminishing their population.
Via MTI; Featured picture: MTI/Balázs Attila