Latest news with #KelseyForbes
CBS News
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Pittsburgh zoo welcomes new male lion Hondo
The Pittsburgh Zoo has a new African lion, and so far, he's been a hit with the ladies. The zoo on Tuesday announced that 8-year-old Hondo has arrived from the Idaho Falls Zoo. The hope is that he'll be a companion for lionesses Abana and Scarlett. The females came to the zoo in 2019 with Kit, who died in 2023. The zoo said it had a few choices, but Hondo's "robust" genes and experience living with females made him "the most eligible bachelor." (Photo Credit: Paul A Selvaggio) How Hondo will join the pride The zoo said lions are social animals with a unique pride structure, and introducing a lion to an existing pride isn't easy, especially because females take longer to accept a new member. It could take anywhere from three months to five years, but so far, the zoo says it's looking pretty good for Hondo. "There were lots of matches, but Hondo was the best fit," curator of mammals Kelsey Forbes said in a news release. "He is good with females having lived with his mother and two younger sisters. Here in Pittsburgh so far, Hondo is a perfect gentleman, and the ladies are obsessed with him." As Hondo gets used to his new home and future pride-mates, the zoo says he and the lionesses will alternate on view in their outdoor habitat. Initial signs of a bond include behaviors that look friendly like grooming and head rubbing, but some gestures like swatting, hissing and biting may be alarming to guests. The zoo says it's all part of the process. Lions also typically call at sunrise and sunset, and the zoo says Scarlett and Abana are already responding to Hondo's call. As for whether the pride will expand to include some little lion cubs, Forbes says, "That remains up to them!"
CBS News
26-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Beloved gorilla at Pittsburgh Zoo dies at age 33
A gorilla described as a favorite of staff and guests alike at the Pittsburgh Zoo has died. Harry, a 33-year-old western lowland gorilla, died after a "sudden cardiac event" on Tuesday afternoon, "despite valiant immediate efforts to resuscitate him," the zoo said. Harry had been receiving treatment for cardiac disease since 2022. Harry was the oldest male in the zoo's gorilla troop of six. Born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1991, Harry came to Pittsburgh a year later, where he stole the hearts of staff and guests. Kelsey Forbes, the zoo's curator of mammals, said Harry was a gentle gorilla who took quickly to becoming both a troop leader and paternal figure after Mrithi died last year . "Harry was amazing with all of the gorilla 'kids' and was vigilant and protective with them. He was an absolutely special boy and had the best laugh of all our gorillas," Forbes said in a press release from the zoo. Harry is the most recent animal death at the zoo. In January, a 17-year-old Masai giraffe named Sox died . A few months before that, Djembe, another beloved gorilla, died after suffering cardiac arrest during a medical procedure. The zoo says gorillas have hearts that are very similar to humans and highly susceptible to cardiac disease. Western lowland gorillas are listed as critically endangered because their population is rapidly diminishing. Males have a median life expectancy of 32 years, the zoo says.
