![]() The Zoo is home to one of North America’s largest populations of western lowland gorillas.Zoo Atlanta is an internationally-renowned leader in the care and study of this critically endangered species, with a program that dates back more than 50 years. Zoo Atlanta’s leadership in the care and study of western gorillas The 2012 publication of “The One and Only Ivan,” followed by the 2020 release of the film of the same name, have introduced new generations to his species and the conservation actions needed to preserve gorillas in the wild. Ivan’s legacy is profound, lasting, and far-reaching. The Zoo still receives many letters and greetings about him and for him, and he remains one of the most asked-about individuals ever to live at Zoo Atlanta. Ivan’s fans from the Pacific Northwest never forgot him. Zoo Atlanta also offered Ivan another vital opportunity – the chance to meet others of his own species – allowing him to spend the remainder of his life as a gorilla who lived in much the same way as gorillas do in the wild. Zoo Atlanta offered Ivan not only this legacy of leadership, but also a new home in the landmark Ford African Rain Forest, a series of naturalistic habitats where he would have the chance to explore the outdoors for the first time in more than 25 years. Zoo Atlanta already had established leadership in the care and study of western lowland gorillas, and in particular, had already been successful in the socialization of another longtime solitary gorilla, the beloved late Willie B. In the mid-1990s, Zoo Atlanta was chosen as a home for Ivan, famous as “The Shopping Mall Gorilla” from Tacoma, Washington, for a number of reasons. After more than 16 years in Atlanta, it’s apparent that while he has never overtly rejected the presence of other gorillas, his most lasting social relationships have always been with his keepers, with whom he has formed close personal bonds. 2011: Ivan’s last “roommate,” Kinyani, leaves Zoo Atlanta for the Columbus Zoo – a departure Ivan hardly seems to notice.He is photographed holding a sign reading, “Ivan ‘Hearts’ Atlanta,” and it’s obvious that Atlanta “hearts” him, too. 2010: Ivan’s 16th anniversary in Atlanta is observed at Zoo Atlanta.While he socializes well with his female companions, and is even observed mating with the flirtatious Kinyani, Ivan sires no offspring. 1995: There’s another new experience, too – girls! Ivan makes his debut with females Molly and Kuchi, and he later meets Shamba, Kashata and Kinyani. ![]() ![]() Sunlight, trees, grass and fresh air are sensory enrichment he has not experienced since 1967. 1995: Ivan explores The Ford African Rain Forest at Zoo Atlanta in spring 1995 – the first time he has been outdoors in more than 27 years.With the approval of the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP), the Woodland Park Zoo sends Ivan to Atlanta on permanent loan in October 1994. 1994: Back East, Willie B.’s high-profile turn from longtime loner to successful silverback has lent national credibility to the gorilla program at Zoo Atlanta, which has by now seen a succession of births.1994: Ivan’s solitary existence has by now provoked national outrage within the zoological and animal welfare communities, and in 1994, his owners donate him to Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo.Riding on the cresting wave of a global push toward naturalistic settings for wild animals in captivity, Ivan’s friends and fans now recognize that a 30-year-old male gorilla has specific social and spatial needs – needs that aren’t being met within the confines of a glass-enclosed room. 1992: The B&I department store is facing bankruptcy, and finances aren’t its owners’ only woes.in Atlanta, Ga., in 1988, another solitary gorilla, Zoo Atlanta’s Willie B., enters a naturalistic habitat for the first time after more than 25 years in a small indoor enclosure. Over the next two decades, he is visited by thousands of friends and fans, an adoring public who may not realize at this time that Ivan’s lifestyle is utterly at odds with the physical, social and behavioral needs of his species. 1970s and 1980s: Ivan is the star attraction of the B&I store, and he becomes Tacoma’s most famous non-human resident.
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