Monkey Business Ahead For Ivan Gorilla Introduced To Potential Mates During Transition From Isolation

Ivan the gorilla, who spent most of his 30 years alone in a cage, went window shopping for a mate Friday as he saw other gorillas for the first time since he was a baby.

Ivan, who was moved to Zoo Atlanta in October from his previous home in Tacoma, has finished his three-month quarantine. As part of his transition from isolation to socialization, he was moved to a new room where he could see - but not touch - the three female gorillas and two young male gorillas zoo officials hope will become his family.

No sparks flew immediately with any of the three brunettes introduced to him from across a crowded room of zoo officials and researchers.

Ivan watched carefully as Molly, about 27, was moved into a decidedly unromantic area across a hallway from his new day room. The two could see and smell each other through wire-mesh netting.

Molly, whom zoo veterinarians described as independent and self-sufficient, wasn’t shy as she tapped on the netting to get Ivan’s attention.

Ivan, however, was at first more interested in his new surroundings and the humans watching him. He was very calm, grunted a few times and ate some peanuts. Eventually, he was caught staring a few times at his potential girlfriend.

Zoo director Terry Maple, who had joked about Ivan putting a ring on Molly’s finger, was encouraged by the gorillas’ first blind date.

“He has shown a very restrained interest in the female,” Maple said. “But this is early in the ballgame. “Everything looks good right now. Of course, this is the first day of a long, complex adventure for Ivan.”

About 15 minutes later, two more females were brought into the room, along with two young males. Ivan grew more relaxed and made a few charges at the mesh.

The next step for Ivan is physical contact, but that will come after zoo officials have evaluated this first contact, said Dietrich Schaaf, the zoo’s general curator.

Until Friday, Ivan hadn’t seen another gorilla since he was captured as an infant in Africa. After being raised by a Tacoma family for his first three years, he spent the next 27 years on display in a cage at the B&I Shopping Mall. He was moved to the Atlanta zoo after a campaign by animal rights activists and gorilla experts, who argued that Ivan deserved the chance to live with his own kind.