Zoo Atlanta Mourns Loss Of 42-year-old Female Gorilla, Banga

Banga wtih her offspring Mbeli

ATLANTA - April 4, 2007 - Dennis Kelly, Zoo Atlanta president and CEO, announced today the passing of 42-year-old female western lowland gorilla Banga. She passed away at 11:51 a.m. during a diagnostic procedure conducted to determine the cause of chronic lethargy, swelling on her limbs and continued lameness issues that she had been experiencing over the past few months. Evidence of a suspected infection under the skin was found during the procedure. The results of a detailed necropsy will be available within the next few months.

In early March, Banga had been diagnosed with severe arthritis and was being treated with oral anti-inflammatory and pain medications.  Despite initial improvement, her condition appeared to worsen recently and she lost weight.  Animal management staff had provided her with an intensive care regimen to ensure that she remained hydrated and nourished.

“Our veterinary and animal management staff did all they could to ensure that Banga could live as comfortably as possible during her later years,” said Dennis Kelly, Zoo Atlanta president and CEO.  “We will all miss her here at Zoo Atlanta.”

Gorillas in the wild can live 30 to 40 years.  Some living in managed populations within zoos have lived into their late 40s, and in rare instances into their early 50s.  Banga was one of five elderly gorillas living at Zoo Atlanta.  The youngest of the five, she had been caring for her 5-year-old offspring, Mbeli.  Mbeli, who was already weaned from his mother, will remain in his current family group that includes his 45-year-old father Ozzie.

Banga had three offspring, all sired by silverback and long-time zoo resident, Ozzie.  The first was a male named Rok, who was born at Yerkes National Primate Research Center on August 21, 1979, when Banga was about 15.  The next one was Charlie, born June 7, 1996 at Zoo Atlanta. His birth was followed by Mbeli’s at Zoo Atlanta on May 27, 2002. 

Banga was wild-born in Africa sometime around 1964 and arrived at Yerkes on June 15, 1986.  She came to Zoo Atlanta on July 26, 1988, and was here for the opening of The Ford African Rain Forest that same year. 

Curator of Primates Charles Horton, who cared for Banga during the nearly 19 years she was at Zoo Atlanta, remembers her as a “feisty gorilla” with a warm, sensitive heart who kept an eye on the younger gorillas. “She once adopted a gorilla offspring of another female and nursed him for a day before returning him to his mother,” recalled Horton.

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