New silverback gorilla “Cecil” debuts at San Francisco Zoo
By Carlos E. Castañeda
The San Francisco Zoo on Wednesday gave a sneak preview of one of its newest residents, a male silverback Western lowland gorilla.
The 26-year-old gorilla named “Cecil” will make his official public debut on Saturday, after arriving at the zoo in early August from the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky. An acclimation process began after Cecil’s arrival, along with an introductory phase with the zoo’s resident females, zoo officials said.
Robbie Graham, the zoo’s senior curator of mammals, said the acclimation involved quarantine protocols, and after several weeks of visual engagement with the female gorillas, the doors inside the enclosure were opened so Cecil and the females could mingle.
“They’ve had a couple of weeks with the exhibit and the holdings to get used to each other and figure out the rules,” Graham said. “The girls definitely showed him who’s boss and running the show. Luckily, Cecil is probably one of the most even-tempered, chilled-out silverbacks there is.”
“The arrival of Cecil is a welcome one, not only for our gorilla family, but for the City of San Francisco,” said the zoo’s COO and Interim co-CEO Cassandra Costello. “From the excitement I hear from the community, we know that visitors will come specifically to see him, as he takes reign of his new family troop.”
In February, the zoo’s 43-year-old silverback gorilla, “Oscar Jonesy,” died from complications after a medical procedure. Oscar Jonesy had lived at the Buffalo Zoo for many years before moving to the San Francisco Zoo in 2004, becoming the head of the zoo’s “troop” of gorillas.
Oscar Jonesy was the father of “Kabibe,” a 16-month-old gorilla who was fatally crushed by a hydraulic door in 2014 while the gorillas were being moved to their night quarters. The zoo paid a $1,750 fine for negligence over the accident.
In 2020, the zoo’s 39-year-old female gorilla “Zura” died after suffering from long-term digestive issues.
In August, longtime San Francisco Zoo & Gardens CEO Tanya Peterson retired weeks after Mayor Daniel Lurie called for her departure. Peterson and the zoo had come under fire following an October 2024 audit compiled by the San Francisco Animal Control and Welfare Commission that concluded the zoo was outdated and unsafe for animals and visitors.
