Gorilla silverback Bao Bao passed away

Today, Apenheul said goodbye to a very special gorilla. Bao Bao came to Apenheul more than seven years ago. Before that, he lived alone in Taipei Zoo (Taiwan) for many years. During his stay at Apenheul, he experienced what it was like to live together with other gorillas, developed his leading skills as leader of a gorilla group and sired his offspring, Kiango. Bao Bao’s health had been deteriorating significantly in the past weeks, and unfortunately silverback Bao Bao was euthanized today. Bao Bao reached the age of 40.

Health problems

In recent years, Bao Bao has had continuous health problems. However, his caretakers have always provided him with the best possible care and have given the welfare of both the silverback and the gorilla group top priority. With the arrival of a second silverback at Apenheul (Banjoko, end of 2023), Bao Bao was given the lead of a smaller gorilla group, to give him more peace of mind.

During the years, extensive observations of his physical health, behaviour and welfare were carried out by the caretakers and other staff of Apenheul. In the last weeks, the caretakers noticed Bao Bao’s health was deteriorating again, and any prospect of recovery or improvement of his welfare could not be expected. His condition deteriorated sharply in the past two days. That is why we made the difficult but careful decision to euthanise Bao Bao.

Unique role

Bao Bao's arrival at Apenheul was very special indeed. At Taipei Zoo, Bao Bao lived alone for most of his life. As a result, he had no experience with females of his own kind or raising young. After long and intensive preparations, Apenheul, in collaboration with the European population management programme for gorillas, decided to transfer Bao Bao to Apenheul and house him together with several gorilla individuals. As Bao Bao had not yet sired any offspring, his genetics were of great value to the gorilla population in zoos and Apenheul wanted to give Bao Bao a chance to live in a social group. To transfer Bao Bao to Apenheul was a challenging, but exciting, decision given Bao Bao's limited social experience. However at Apenheul, with its extensive knowledge and expertise on housing and caring for gorillas, he was given the freedom to develop and practise his social skills. This was a great opportunity for Bao Bao; both to live together with his own kind and to experience leading his own family group. Apenheul gave Bao Bao time to get used to the gorilla individuals. And with much care and attention from both staff and the other gorillas, he developed into the leader of his own gorilla family group. The birth of his son Kiango in February 2021 was a great addition! Despite his lack of experience, Bao Bao took good care of his son together with Kiango's mother Gyasi and the rest of the gorillas.

Population management

In the wild, gorillas are threatened with extinction. Therefore, maintaining a genetically healthy population of gorillas in zoos is very important. Bao Bao's genes were not yet represented in the worldwide gorilla zoo population. The fact that he passed on his genes to his son Kiango is therefore highly valuable for future generations of gorillas in zoos.

Gorillas at Apenheul Primate Park

Apenheul houses two gorilla groups. Silverback Bao Bao was the silverback leader of one of these groups. Bao Bao’s group, which currently consists of three gorillas including his son Kiango, will have to get used to the loss of their leader. For the time being, these gorillas will remain together on the smaller island. The other gorilla group is led by the new gorilla leader Banjoko and consists of six gorillas.