On Rola's birthday, there is no Rola, but Monta continues to live life to the fullest.

Описание: 📷 Sept 21, 2025
📍 Chiba Zoological Park

Correction
11:57 One of the bumps circled seems to be his nipple. Sorry!

I visited on Rola's birthday. Rola passed away in May this year. I wanted to see how Monta was doing. He was doing well. The zoo should add more personnel to the care team of great apes. Just one person is impossible to meet their needs. Happy World Gorilla Day, 2025. Thank you to every one of you who works hard to conserve gorillas.

📢 Announcement on relocation of gorillas in Japan:
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About Western Lowland Gorilla
Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Habitat: The most widespread gorilla subspecies, it can be found across more than 700,000 km² of Central and West Africa.
Lifespan: 35 yrs in the wild (to 60 yrs in captivity)
IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
It is the smallest of the four gorilla subspecies, which also include the Cross River gorillas, Grauer’s gorillas, and mountain gorillas. It has shorter black-brown hair, longer arms, and a more prominent ridge along their brow. The adult males, called silverbacks, have silvery-grey hair on their backs and thighs. Their heads are large and pointed, with a sagittal crest forming the back of the top of the head. Its population has been decreasing due to poaching and disease. The estimated population in 2013 was almost 362,000 individuals (IUCNredlist.org). Fewer than 150,000 western lowland gorillas remain in the wild (gorillas.org).

MONTA ♂
DOB: 1984/09/25 in Spain or 1986 in Africa?
Ownership: Chiba Zoo
• 1987: Monta and Momoko were transferred from Spain to Japan. (age 1 or 3?)
They were kept at Aritake Chojuten Co. Ltd., the animal dealer, until they moved to Chiba Zoo in 1993.
• 1993/03: He and Momoko were transferred to Chiba Zoological Park.
NB: The credibility of his birth info is uncertain.

Monta and Momoko grew up together. They were infants when they arrived in Japan. However, due to the allegation of illegal trade, they spent a few years at the animal dealer's place until the allegation was cleared. He desperately needs a companion to live as his kind. He's been living alone most of his adult life. From 2009 until 2010, the zoo tried pairing up Monta and Rola several times. It didn't go well. Since then, he has been all alone. The system of changing keepers at short intervals is problematic because it leads to a lack of technical training and hinders the management of the gorillas' physical and mental health. Although it has been more than 30 years since the zoo began keeping gorillas, unfortunately, both manpower and facilities are not in place to be able to manage gorillas in a group.

1️⃣ How Monta & Momoko came to Japan    • How gorilla Nice & Merry (Monta & Momoko) ...  
2️⃣ When Monta & Momoko were at Chiba Zoo    • Story when gorillas, Momoko, Monta & Goro,...  
3️⃣ When Momoko & Momotaro were at Chiba Zoo    • Story when Monta, Momoko & Momotaro were a...  
4️⃣ When the zoo tried pairing up Monta with Rola    • Story of paring up gorilla Monta with Rola...  

References
Savage & Wyman, 1847. International studbook for the western lowland gorilla Gorilla g. Gorilla
GAIN Great Ape Information Network
IUCN - Gorilla gorilla ssp. gorilla, Western Lowland Gorilla
The Gorilla Organization

#WAZAmember #ZoosForConservation #EndangeredSpecies