London Zoo brings in French lover Yeboah
It has taken eight months and a worldwide search, but London Zoo has finally found a mate for its female gorillas — in France.
Yeboah, a 12-year-old, will be moved to his new home from La Boissière Du Doré zoo, near Nantes.
Keepers have spent months scouring the globe for a replacement after Bobby the gorilla, one of the zoo's main attractions, died last December.
Today the females will be shown life-sized pictures of their new 20-stone companion to get them accustomed to him.
"I think it will be love at first sight when the girls are let on to the island to look at the pictures — it's going to be a very special moment."
The zoo has pledged to contribute £500,000 to gorilla conservation in central Africa, where there are thought to be only 100,000 of the primates left, from the development of the exhibit.
