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SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah's Hogle Zoo has a new resident.
Thursday, the zoo introduced Husani, a silverback gorilla, to the public. The 18-year-old primate was moved to Utah from a Florida zoo to be a companion to Tino, the zoo's 37-year-old male gorilla.
"They're very social animals, so we're hoping that they mesh," said Great Ape Keeper at the Hogle Zoo Bobbi Gordon. "Their personalities seem very similar and very compatible."
In the wild, male gorillas only live with females and their young. However, with more than 50 percent of births in captivity being males, zoos are creating bachelor troops of gorillas instead.
The Deseret News reports Husani is Tino's first companion since 44-year-old female gorilla Muke died after a battle with cancer last spring.
