Animal Kingdom Is Weeks From Taking Down the Last Barrier Between Silverback Bakari and Three 'Starry-Eyed' Female Gorillas

Three female gorillas at Disney's Animal Kingdom have spent weeks sitting at a mesh fence, staring at the new guy. Disney says that fence comes down within weeks.

Bakari, the 21-year-old silverback who arrived on the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail this summer to lead the troop, is weeks away from sharing space with the park's three female gorillas, WESH 2 reported on Thursday, September 24. WDW News Today, picking up WESH's report on Sunday, says removing that barrier will put the group together in public view for the first time.

The short version: Bakari and the three females can currently see, hear and smell one another through the mesh, but cannot touch. Disney says it is weeks away from removing the final barrier. No specific date has been announced.

A guest photographs Bakari on the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. Photo: Disney

The "howdy" phase

Right now the gorillas are in a visual and sensory introduction stage that FOX 35 says is known as a "howdy." Until the keepers allow physical contact, the gorillas get to know each other by sight, sound and scent, with mesh between them.

Disney's animal care team says the females are into it. "The girls are pretty smitten with him... they're a little starry-eyed," Dr. Natalie Mylniczenko told FOX 35. "They'll come right up to the mesh because they still don't have the opportunity to touch each other. They just sit there staring in his eyes and watching him."

Rachel Daneault, Disney's primate zoological manager, described the same scene to WESH: "They are sitting at those panels all the time. They'll get their food. They'll gather it together. They'll eat next to each other. They'll make big nests next to them. They'll sleep next to each other. These are all things we like to see."

Bakari's first day, Daneault told WESH, was "very funny because he just didn't know what he wanted." As she put it: "He was kind of upset when they were there, but if they started to walk away, he would start purring at them, like 'Oh, come back, come back, come back!'"

Gorillas at Disney's Animal Kingdom, in Walt Disney World footage aired by WESH 2. Image: WESH 2 / Walt Disney World

A big job for a bachelor

Bakari is being asked to lead a family, and WESH notes he is coming straight from a bachelor troop. "The one thing I will say is the girls tell us what to do," Daneault said. "It is all about the girls."

Disney's team is borrowing lessons from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the GRACE (Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education) gorilla program. WESH reports that two years ago, rescued orphaned females there nested along a fence near a wild male and refused to leave his side. One female, Mapendo, started taking down tree branches and bringing them over to the fence. "Basically, what we assumed was in an attempt to break down the fence to get to him. So we knew it was time," said Lori Cummins, deputy director of education for GRACE. That integration was immediate, WESH reports, and the youngest female gave birth to the male's baby in May.

One last checkup first

Before the barrier comes down, Bakari had a final exam. "He was probably under anesthesia for about four to five hours," Disney World veterinarian and animal health director Dr. Geoff Pye told WESH. "He was such a good boy because he took his hand injection for anesthesia like a champion." FOX 35 reports that he received a clean bill of health.

The size gap is significant. Bakari weighs 400 pounds, and WESH puts the females at around 200 to 250 pounds.

Bakari in his habitat at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Photo: Disney

Why this troop has been waiting

Bakari replaces Gino, the silverback who died in September 2025 after leading the troop for nearly 30 years, according to FOX 35. Bakari came to Animal Kingdom from the Saint Louis Zoo through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Western Lowland Gorilla Species Survival Plan, and we covered his debut on the trail back in July. Disney hopes he will eventually father offspring of his own, FOX 35 reports.

His arrival has also come with money for gorillas in the wild. Ahead of World Gorilla Day on September 24, the Disney Conservation Fund committed $100,000 in fresh grant money split among three groups, GRACE, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Gorilla Doctors, WKMG News 6 reports. Disney says its gorilla conservation giving now tops $4.7 million overall.

How to see them

The gorillas live along the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail in the Africa section of Disney's Animal Kingdom. As with any animal habitat, sightings are never guaranteed, and Disney has not said exactly when the barrier will come down.

Would you time an Animal Kingdom day to catch the new troop together, or is the Gorilla Falls trail a walk-through for you?

Sources

• WESH 2, How Animal Kingdom is introducing Bakari to his new family, 3 female gorillas
• WDW News Today, Silverback Gorilla Bakari Weeks Away From Joining Female Troop at Disney's Animal Kingdom
• FOX 35 Orlando, Meet Bakari, Disney's new silverback gorilla at Animal Kingdom
• WKMG News 6, Disney Conservation Fund awards 3 new grants for gorilla conservation
• Disney Parks Blog, Meet Bakari, the New Silverback Gorilla at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Image credits: Bakari photos courtesy of Disney (Disney Parks Blog). Troop image from Walt Disney World footage aired by WESH 2.