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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kuchi Coo? Ivan The Gorilla Learns About Life Outside Mall

Ivan the gorilla’s keepers at Zoo Atlanta are betting a new neighbor can woo the lifelong bachelor, who’s getting his first notions of what life outside the B&I Shopping Mall is all about.

Kuchi, a 10-year-old gorilla, has moved into the “howdy cage” next to Ivan, with the two separated only by wire mesh. His first companion there after a period of isolation was 26-year-old Molly.

“Kuchi is flirting with Ivan a lot, which sometimes makes Molly a little jealous. But overall, things are going very well,” keeper Kyle Burks said.

“They’re super comfortable with each other right now. They can walk right up and look eye to eye and not get mad.”

The gorillas can poke their fingers through the mesh, snatch pieces of food from under the wire, and sit side by side when they’re feeling friendly.

Ivan, who spent almost all of his first 28 years in a cage at the Tacoma store, moved to the Georgia zoo about eight months ago.

Kuchi, who has a 4-year-old son, is one of the youngest female gorillas to give birth in captivity.

Zoo Atlanta spokeswoman Carol Flammer said Tuesday that zoo officials plan to meet Friday to decide when to allow Ivan to have physical contact with the other gorillas. Contact may be permitted next week.

It would be Ivan’s first physical contact with another gorilla, beyond touching through the screen, since he was taken from his mother by hunters nearly 30 years ago.

“We’re going to be ultraconservative before we take that final step - putting them together in the same room,” said Burks, a Georgia Tech graduate student who has been tracking Ivan’s behavior.

Kuchi has joined Molly in part because no one knows how Ivan will react when the net comes down. If he becomes aggressive, the two females could team up to fend him off.