First he was homesick, but Kidogo, a gorilla in Krefeld zoo in Germany, now appears to be enjoying himself with a walk across a tightrope similar to daredevil Nik Wallenda.
The 12-year-old silverback moved to Germany from Denmark’s Givskud Zoo at the end of March. He was acquired by the German zoo after the previous male gorilla Massa proved to be infertile.
Kidogo, a western lowland gorilla nicknamed ‘King Kodo’ by his keepers, shares his gorilla garden with females Muna, 23 and Oya, 24. Roughly translated from Swahili, his name means “small”.
After he initially suffered extreme homesickness, he has now discovered he is somewhat of an artiste. This year, Krefeld zoo celebrates its 75 anniversary. A tightrope-walking gorilla would likely be a highlight of any zoo.
Kidogo, with a little more practice, could join the ranks of the great tightrope walkers. In June, Wallenda became the first man to walk across Niagara Falls on a high wire.
Wallenda, part of a famous acrobatic dynasty, edged his way for 1,800ft along a two-inch diameter steel rope nearly 200 feet above the world renowned falls.
