"How and why do you
move a 415 pound
gorilla?"
It Takes More than a Zoo!
By Heather Dishon,
C ommunications C oordinator
When animals move to and from
the Louisville Zoo, it can be both
exciting and mystifying. Why did
the animals get moved? How in the
world did such a large animal like
a gorilla get transported? Hearing
these questions from guests as I
walk through the Zoo, I recall feel-
ing the same wonder and puzzle-
ment a few years ago when I first
started working here. I hope to help
you understand the why and how
of it all by sharing some behind-
the-scenes views plus some of the
reasons for moving endangered
animals to and from other zoos.
One of our most recent de-
partures was Mshindi, our male
silverback western lowland gorilla.
The 30-year-old gorilla came to
the Louisville Zoo in 2005 from St.
Louis, and as many of you know, he
fathered the now one-year-old go-
rilla Kindi. Mshindi was transferred
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Gorilla Mishidi at the Louisville Zoo
to another AZA-accredited
facility in July of 2017. In his
place, the charismatic Casey
arrived, a handsome 35-year-
old gorilla from Audubon Zoo
that has joined the nine other
gorillas in Gorilla Forest.
As Communications Co-
ordinator, I’ve seen my share
of animals come and go. But
even after almost two years,
I’m still learning many things
about the amazing and very
complex inner workings of
zoos. However, I know that
when animals like Mshindi and
Casey are moved between Associa-
tion of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)
accredited institutions, it’s due to
the needs of the Species Survival
Plan (SSP), in this case, the SSP for
western lowland gorillas.
SSPs are designed and managed
by a group of experts within and
4 • Louisville Zoo Trunkline • Fall 2017
Gorilla Casey at Audubon Zoo
outside the AZA universe of 231 ac-
credited zoos and aquariums (more
on this later). Each SSP is a highly
coordinated effort to manage many
threatened or endangered species,
to facilitate healthy and genetically
diverse populations in managed care