My Polar Bear Friends and Friends of Polar Bears: Gorilla Tales: Ndume's life after the famous Koko

Ndume at the Cincinnati Zoo. Life is good.

Ndume started his life 44 years ago at the Cincinnati Zoo, and has experienced an unconventional celebrity-adjacent lifestyle, a lot of drama and even a famous custody battle before returning to a normal gorilla life in 2019, returning to his original home at the Cincinnati Zoo. These days, he happily looks out over his troop of two favored gorilla ladies, M'linzi and her daughter Mara, enjoying life as a silverback should.

Ndume

Ndume, here in the inside habitat at the Cincinnati Zoo, has a very distinctive profile, with a very tall almost pointed head.

He spent his early years at the Cincinnati Zoo, and one of his playmates was his half sister M'linzi, who was about a year younger. He moved to the Brookfield Zoo when he was seven years old, and while there fathered four babies, Baraka, Mtu Chuma, and Zuza, plus one who only lived a few days. All have since passed away.

Ndume swirling his pink blanket.

When he was ten years old, Ndume returned to Cincinnati for a short time, but was soon selected as companion to the famous Koko, with the legal agreement that he would return to the Cincinnati Zoo upon the death of Koko.

Handsome Ndume.

His role as companion to world renowned sign language gorilla Koko at the Gorilla Foundation in Woodside California started with high hopes, but led to frequent isolation, as Koko seemed to prefer people and even kittens to other gorillas. In addition, successful gorilla troops include a silverback and multiple females. In the Gorilla Foundation scenario, Koko was the only female.

Ndume

According to the Gorilla Foundation, Koko had selected Ndume through a kind of "video dating," which was probably choosing whom she liked by watching videos of various gorilla suitors.

Ndume was born October 10, 1981 at the Cincinnati Zoo to Ramses and Rosie (Mata Hari). Rosie went on to become the first and only gorilla mother to give birth through in vitro fertilization anywhere (this was also at the Cincinnati Zoo). The baby girl was named Timu. Rosie/ Mata Hari died in 2018 at age 43 at the North Carolina Zoo. Father Ramses, who is also father of M'linzi, now lives in the Fort Worth Zoo and at age 55 in April is one of the oldest gorillas in the world. Ramses' father was King Tut, the first silverback gorilla of the Cincinnati Zoo.

King Tut, Ndume's grandfather

The famous Samantha, who had so many babies at the Cincinnati Zoo, was Ndume's aunt. Ndume's father Ramses was also the father of eleven other babies, including M'linzi, who has remained at the Cincinnati Zoo since her birth in 1982 and is now part of his troop.

Mara in foreground, and Ndume in 2021.

When Ndume first returned to the Cincinnati Zoo in 2019, after the judgment in the custody lawsuit, he was placed with M'linzi's daughter Mara, along with Chewie, Mara's half sister through their father. Ndume seemed very happy with the arrangement of having two ladies after so many years of being alone, and especially was fond of Mara.

Ndume's original troop in Cincinnati, Chewie and Mara in 2021.

When the beloved Silverback Jomo passed away in March of 2022, the Cincinnati Zoo felt that Jomo's death left a leadership vacuum in his troop, which was composed of younger females and M'linzi, who lacked the strong personality needed. At the time, no outside Silverback was available and the zoo needed to form an all female troop, so Chewie was brought over from Ndume's troop, as she knew how to be in charge.

Mara in her jungle

Mara in front, and her mom M'linzi back

M'linzi then became the third member of Ndume's troop, along with her daughter Mara. It has worked out very well.

M'linzi, in the inside habitat.

In late 2022, Silverback M'Beli arrived from Denver, and became the leader of the girls troop, and since then they have welcomed a baby boy, Mboka Jo, son of Gladys. This troop is now made up of M'Beli, Chewie, Gladys, Baby Mboka Jo, young Elle and young Mona/Mondika. When Gladys was a baby, she came from another zoo in need of a surrogate mother. Keepers cared for Baby Gladys until M'linzi was chosen as surrogate mom.

The third rotating group at the Cincinnati Zoo is a bachelor troop from Detroit, half brothers Chip, Pende and Kongo.

The three troops are rotated between a fairly new indoor enclosure, the spacious woodsy outside habitat, and behind the scenes, so anytime you visit during good weather, you probably will see two troops. During the winter, you will probably only see one troop, whichever group is rotated into the inside habitat, although with glare it is harder to get good photos there.

Ndume holding court in the inside habitat.

Ndume is closely related to his ladies, M'linzi being his half sister and Mara being his niece, but all lady gorillas at the Cincinnati Zoo who are not approved for breeding are on birth control, and that is the case for Ndume's troop.

Ndume

Life at the Gorilla Foundation

Ndume's life is settled now, a proper gorilla's life with a troop of ladies, just as it should be. Not so, in his younger days at the Gorilla Foundation.

When he was ten years old, with his ownership still remaining with the Cincinnati Zoo, he was moved to California and the Gorilla Foundation, where Koko was the star pupil in the experiment to teach gorillas to communicate with sign language. Reportedly, Koko knew how to sign 1000 words, and could understand 2000 words. Ndume also was taught to sign.

Ndume was brought there to be mate for Koko, but Koko was not interested in him as a boyfriend, just as a friend.

Koko was famous for many things, including adopting a kitten, and a book was written about this, called "Koko's Kitten." Koko was also visited by many celebrities such as Betty White and Robin Williams, and was featured on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, where she did what she had seen Fred Rogers do on TV, take his shoes off.

Koko also was the subject of two cover stories in National Geographic.

However, controversy swirled around the Gorilla Foundation. Some charged that Koko was just imitating her teacher, that the interpretations were subjective, and that the gorillas were not getting timely veterinary care, that their diet was not appropriate. In any case, Koko's positive publicity brought public awareness of gorillas and their emotions.

Ndume also learned some sign language, and there was another male gorilla there, Michael. Since Koko was not interested romantically in Ndume, after Michael died in 2000, the lone silverback was sometimes isolated and that is not a good thing for gorillas, who are social animals.

When Koko died at the age of 46 in 2018 at the Gorilla Foundation, the Cincinnati Zoo required that the original agreement be honored, that Ndume would return to them upon the event of Koko's death. The Gorilla Foundation refused, saying that such a move would be detrimental to Ndume, that the gorilla was attached to and dependent upon his human caregivers, and the move could even cause his death.

The lawsuit dragged on for a year, but the Cincinnati Zoo at last was awarded custody. Ndume returned to his original home, where he learned to be a regular gorilla again, first adjusting to zoo life, and then with a troop of Chewie and Mara. Several of his human companions from the Gorilla Foundation traveled with him and helped him adjust for the first month or two.

Slowly but surely, Ndume got to know the other gorillas.