Lonely Gorilla Needs a Female

Zoo authorities in Mysore are losing hope of finding a partner for 37-year-old Polo

By PTI

Posted On Monday, September 07, 2009 at 02:26:15 AM

Polo, born in Dublin Zoo, was brought in 1995 as a mate for Sumathi who died in 2000 New Delhi: Gorillas across the world are getting attention with conservationists observing 2009 as the year of the Gorilla, but for 37-year-old Polo – housed in the Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens Zoo in Mysore in Karnataka – it is just another year of solitary life. Polo has been without a female companion since 2000. And, the wait for a mate for this Western Lowland Gorilla – an endangered species – may remain endless as zoo authorities have now given up the hope of finding a female gorilla. Polo, born in Dublin Zoo in 1972, was brought in 1995 as a mate for Sumathi (a female gorilla) in the zoo. But after Sumathi’s death five years later following an illness, Polo has been living all alone. “While we have organised awareness programmes, as far as providing a mate to Polo is concerned, we have utterly failed. None of the zoos in the world having gorillas is ready to part with a female species for Polo,” Vijayranjan Singh, Zoo Director said. The world might have ignored Polo’s need for a companion, but this magnificient animal has enthralled each and every visitor to the Mysore Zoo, he said. Polo becomes very active at the sight of children. He moves around and makes pranks, bringing smile on the face of the little ones, Singh said. Now, the lone ill-fated Polo might eventually end up as a last gorilla in an Indian Zoo. Gorillas do not belong to Indian habitat. But even efforts to breed them in captivity here have failed. For instance, way back a gorilla named Sugriva was brought from a foreign zoo but it died even before completing one year of its stay here in 80s. Israel gifted a male gorilla, Bobo, as a mate for Sumathi. But it too did not live long, Singh added. There are four sub-species of gorilla that live in 10 African countries, three of them – Eastern Lowland Gorillas, Mountain Gorillas, Western Lowland Gorilla – are critically endangered. Source