It's been a lonely life for Idi Amin, Brazil's only zoo-bound gorilla who has been single for the past 27 years. The long-time bachelor will soon have a chance at love as scientists have relocated two female gorillas from England in an effort to find him a girlfriend. Imbi and Kifta arrived in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte on Friday and will soon share the cage with 38-year-old Idi.
The male Western Lowland gorilla moved to the the zoo from France in 1975, when he was only two years old. Along with him came Dada, a female who died of complications from an ear infection three years later. Zoo keepers tried to pair him with Cleopatra in 1984, but she also died briefly after arriving. Since then, the gorilla named after the former, notorious, Ugandan dictator has been living alone in his huge cage that was recently refurbished to welcome the two new dwellers.
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Imbi and Kifta will spent up to 60 days in a veterinary hospital to undergo exams and get used to environmental conditions before moving in with Idi. Zoo manager Evandro Xavier said the adaptation process was lengthy. "He hasn't been in contact with a fellow animal for 27 years and the two females also didn't live together. So, first of all, the two females will undergo an adaptation process between them and, afterwards, we'll adapt the tree of them together. There are several methods involved and the whole work is done in order to seek the wellbeing of the animals," he said.
Both females are around 11 years old and came from London after months of negotiations involving the Belo Horizonte zoo, Brazilian government officials and a British charity foundation that protects endangered species. Zoo keepers expect that the presence of Imbi and Kifta will make Idi happier, but all also hope for them to mate and have babies. Xavier said the zoo could become a breeding centre.
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