Riverbanks Zoo announces gorillas Moyo & ZaKota are heading to Dallas!

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) – Riverbanks Zoo & Garden says two gorillas Moyo and ZaKota are heading to Dallas Zoo this March!

Officials say the brothers, born at Riverbanks in 2018, will join a bachelor group of young males as part of the The Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan (SSP) Breeding and Transfer Plan.

According to Riverbanks, they were the first successful gorilla births in the Zoo’s history, and their move is the result of more than eight years of hands-on work by animal care and veterinary staff.

In Dallas, they will join two other young gorillas in a bachelor group, with space to grow socially and physically in a way that reflects natural gorilla behavior.

Their relocation will now allow them to play a role in the broader western lowland gorilla population. Their family will remain at Riverbanks.

You’re encouraged to visit the zoo in the coming weeks to help send the brothers off with love before they head to Texas!