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The video of Jambo looking over Levan Merritt at the Jersey Zoo was voted number one by the Channel Island public as the “Shot that shook the Island.” More here

During Jambo’s move to his new enclosure in 1981 his measurements and weight were taken while he was under sedation

Jambo (pronounced “Yambo”) was born on the 17th April 1961 at the Basle Zoologischer Garteen in Switzerland. He weighed only about 4 pounds. He was named by Professor Ernst H Lang director of Basle Zoo.

Jambo is Swahili for “Hello” or “How are you?”

Jambo was unique as he was the first male gorilla to be born in captivity. He was also the first captive-born gorilla to be reared by his mother (Achilla)

This famous gorilla sired a total of 15 live offspring from 19 pregnancies.

Sadly Jambo was found dead on the 16th September 1992. The cause of death was due to a spontaneous rupture of the major artery, resulting in a massive haemorrage in his chest. Unfortunatly this condition could not have been forseen and as a result was totally unexpected.

In memory of Jambo a Bronze Statue was commissioned and now stands near to the Gorilla Enclosure. Jambo is sadly missed.

Ya Kwanza is now the dominant male Gorilla. He was sent to Jersey from Australia. He is also unique as he is the first Gorilla to be born in captivity by artificial insemination. He does look every bit as big as Jambo was.

Gorillas are predominantly herbivores, eating mostly plant material. They forage for food in the forests during the day. They eat leaves, fruit, seeds, tree bark, plant bulbs, tender plant shoots, and flowers. They have been known to eat various parts of over 200 different plant species. Occasionally, gorillas supplement their diet with termites and ants.