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Endangered Silverback Gorillas To Debut At Zoo Miami

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Two bachelor Silverback Gorillas, considered endangered, are making their debut at Zoo Miami!

Twenty-eight year old "Shango" and his younger brother 23-year-old "Barney" were transferred from the Sedgwick County Zoo on May 20th.

The two bachelor gorillas have been in quarantine while staff renovated and modified the gorilla exhibit at the zoo.

Bright and early Friday morning the two will make their debut at the newly remodeled exhibit.

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.

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