07/31/2026
DAK STL CONNECTION: Disney's Animal Kingdom just introduced Bakari, as the newest addition at Gorilla Falls Exploration.
Although both Zoos note, he came from "another AZA accredited Zoo", I knew I recognized that name from our own AMAZING Saint Louis Zoo!
Can't wait to get back to Animal Kingdom to say Hello to my fellow St. Louisan!
He's not the only St. Louisan to have worked at both the St. Louis Zoo and Disney's Animal Kingdom---- Both my sister, Kerry, and I did as well. I handled the humans while she handled the animals with fur!
Based on a breeding recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Western Lowland Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP), 21-year-old Bakari has moved to another AZA-accredited institution in central Florida to start his own family.
The Western Lowland Gorilla SSP is a conservation breeding program that manages a genetically healthy population of this species in North American, AZA-accredited zoos. Bakari’s move provides him the opportunity to lead a family group at his new home, which will strengthen the western lowland gorilla population. We wish Bakari all the best as he steps into this next chapter!
Bakari came to the Saint Louis Zoo in 2011 from Brookfield Zoo where he was born in 2005. He has been part of a bachelor gorilla troop at Jungle of the Apes since his arrival. This bachelor troop prepares adult males, also known as silverbacks, for the possibility of leading a family in the future. Gorilla bachelor troops are commonly found in the wild, including silverbacks and young adult males that live and travel together until they join a breeding group.
The Zoo has a long history supporting the AZA’s Western Lowland Gorilla SSP. The Saint Louis Zoo was the first AZA-accredited zoo and the first North American zoo to form a bachelor troop for this species, as well as the first to successfully integrate two bachelor troops.
Although western lowland gorillas are the most common of the four-gorilla subspecies, they are critically endangered and facing the threat of complete extinction in the wild. The Saint Louis Zoo supports western lowland gorillas through the AZA SSP and the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute Center for the Conservation of Congo Apes.
