Zoo Miami Welcomes Two New Endangered Silverback Gorillas
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Zoo Miami has a couple of new residents making their highly anticipated debut Friday morning.
Endangered Silverback Gorillas, Shango and Barney, are going on public display in their newly remodeled exhibit.
The primate brothers, who came to Miami from the Sedgwick County Zoo on May 20th, have been in quarantine until now.
Shango is 28-years old and his brother Barney is 23.
Shango and Barney are lowland gorillas that are considered a critically endangered species found in the dense forests of the Congo Basin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, and Gabon.
Male lowland gorillas can stand over 5 feet tall and weigh over 400 pounds with females being significantly smaller and weighing about 150 to 200 pounds.
Lowland gorillas are vegetarians and are normally not aggressive. Their often referred to as 'gentle giants.'
As for Shango and Barney, they are part of a Species Survival Plan. Zoo officials hope female Silverback Gorillas will become available so they can breed the species.