GORILLA AT THE ZOO ENJOYS FIRST BIRTHDAY

Floyd the western lowland gorilla turned 1 on July 24, 2020. The Gorilla Care Team at Zoo Atlanta celebrated early on the morning of July 22, filling Floyd’s family’s habitat with festive surprises before the group came outside for the day.

Floyd and his family enjoyed several ice “cakes” shaped as the numeral 1 and filled with frozen fruit. Treats also included larger ice blocks packed with grander prizes, including fruits such as a half-pineapple. A featured gift for Floyd was a large pile of his favorite play enrichment: wood wool.

Floyd is the 24th gorilla born at Zoo Atlanta and is a grandson of the legendary late Willie B. He is also a great-grandson of Ozzie, the world’s oldest living male gorilla at 59. Floyd lives in the Zoo’s Ford African Rain Forest with his family troop, which includes mother Lulu; father Taz; sister Andi; aunt Kudzoo; half-sister Merry; half-sister Mija; aunt Sukari; and half-sister Anaka.

Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), over a 25-year period, the combined threats of poaching, illegal hunting for the bushmeat trade, habitat loss and emerging diseases such as Ebola have reduced their numbers by 60 percent in the wild, with declines of as much as 90 percent in some parts of their range in western Africa. Populations living within North American zoos are overseen by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Gorilla Species Survival Plan® (SSP), which seeks to maintain a self-sustaining, genetically diverse gorilla population for future generations, and in which Zoo Atlanta is an active partner.

Learn more at zooatlanta.org. Follow Zoo Atlanta on Facebook and Instagram throughout the day on July 24 for more exclusive content featuring Floyd.