Meet Roxie!

Roxie, the Zoo’s 37-year-old western lowland gorilla, is the oldest gorilla in our troop of seven. She also just might be the coolest animal at the Zoo, according to Mandy Hester, Primate World Lead Keeper. 

Though she’s older and has had a few health issues, she still loves to play with the younger gorillas and her best gorilla buddy, 21-year-old Kwisha.

“Roxie and Kwisha love to play together,” Hester said. “When the two of them are separated from the rest of the troop for husbandry training, they giggle, grumble and wrestle with each other. It’s great to see them support each other, since they are the two that are the lowest in dominance.” 

Gorillas are always live in troops, or groups. Within each troop, there is a hierarchy based on dominance.  The silverback gorilla is always at the top of the social structure and each female has their place below the male.

“Roxie may be the lowest ranked gorilla, but she’s the nicest,” Hester said. “She gets along with everyone in the troop and is great with the kids. Dembe, our youngest gorilla, can frequently be seen relaxing or playing on Roxie’s belly.”

Roxie is also great at learning new husbandry behaviors. Throughout her life, she’s had a few health issues, including one non-working kidney and abdominal and groin abscesses. Hester was able to train Roxie to place her toes on the training mesh and lean way back so Hester could spray an antiseptic on her sores. Hester says the training has been invaluable for caring for them, but also it’s a great indication of just how smart Roxie is.

“She learns complex behaviors very quickly,” Hester said. “She seems to really enjoy her training time, and is always eager to work with keepers. Because of how quickly she learns, she’s taught me a lot about animal training, and I’m a better animal keeper because of her.”

Hester is currently training Roxie to voluntarily participate in heart ultrasounds. Roxie is asked to press her chest up to the training mesh, while Hester holds the ultrasound equipment to her heart for a short period of time.

“Since she’s higher in age, and we know that gorillas can have the same heart issues as older humans, we are attempting to proactively monitor her.” Hester said. “We are working with Rafiki on the same heart ultrasound training.”

Hester says she also loves what Roxie does after her session is over.

“After Roxie is done training, she stays and watches Kwisha’s training sessions,” Hester said. “It’s really amazing; she’s actually given Kwisha more confidence in her training and is a big comfort to her. She also occasionally gives extra encouragement and starts to clap during training.”

Roxie was never able to have offspring due to health issues in her younger years, but Hester says that she’s always been a natural caregiver to the gorilla kids, and that she’s an integral part of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo gorilla troop.