TWENTY eight stone, strong, dark haired with a grey streak running down his back is “Oumbie”, the latest arrival at Twycross Zoo, a male western lowland silverback gorilla. Oumbie came from Port Lympne Zoological Gardens at the beginning of September to woo our two females Asante and Ozala. The girls are quite intrigued with the new handsome male in the group and it is hoped that Twycross Zoo will soon hear the pitter patter of tiny feet. Matadi our six year old male has submitted to Oumbie who is now the dominant male in the group.

Oumbie lived in a family group with his mother Mouila and father Bitam until he was five years old. He was then moved to a bachelor group for a time and lately he has been in a group with at least twelve other males. Moving to Twycross Zoo will give him the opportunity to breed and continue to enhance the breeding programme.

Gorillas are the largest of the Great Apes and as with all apes they differ from monkeys by having no tails. Gorillas spend most of their time on the ground, hidden in the jungles of Africa. When they walk they use their hands as extra legs, supporting the massive weight of the front of their body on the knuckles of their large fleshy hands Despite their size, gorillas are peaceful animals and rarely show aggression. In the Zoo they can often be seen beating their chest (King Kong style) or charging the glass barriers of their enclosures. These actions are generally all for display and may help wild gorillas ward off intruders, keep in touch with other group members or to generally let off steam. Chest beating is also used in play situations between members of the family group.

The word "gorilla" comes from the history of Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian explorer on an expedition on the West African coast. They encountered savage people, the majority of them were women, whose bodies were hairy, and whom the interpreters called “Gorillae". The word was then later used as the species name, though it is unknown whether these ancient Carthaginians encountered true gorillas, another species of ape or monkeys, or humans.

Western lowland gorillas are endangered and are part of an internationally co-ordinated conservation breeding programme. They are ground-dwelling apes and predominantly herbivores these apes inhabit the forests of central Africa.