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Nikko is 35 years old, and although he was widowed almost a year ago, he’s ready to start looking again. The problem is, there just aren’t any females on his block that he can relate to.
So the short, dark and handsome Nikko is leaving Oakland and moving to Santa Barbara, where things appear a bit more promising.
Nikko, a white-handed gibbon, has lived at the Oakland Zoo for 32 years. He lost his mate in January, and attempts to find a suitable new partner have been unsuccessful. Gibbons mate for life and become lonely if they don’t have a mate to swing around the trees and sing duets with.
Zoo officials say that in the past few months, Nikko has seemed to grow less happy, and the decision was made to transfer him to Santa Barbara Zoo, where he’ll be introduced to two other white-handed gibbons, Jasmine, who is 40, and her adopted daughter, Jari, 4.
Introductions will be made slowly; if the relocation doesn’t work out, Oakland Zoo is keeping Nicco’s habitat vacant and will welcome him back.
“Nikko has been beloved for his sweet, gentle nature for the 32 years he’s been with us at Oakland Zoo,” said Andrea Dougall, zoological manager at the zoo.
The decision to move him was not made lightly, Dougall said. There are concerns about Nicco’s ability to adjust to a new place, his ability to get along with not just one other gibbon but two, and also his age.
“We won’t have answers to the first two concerns for a little while,” Dougall said, “but we are optimistic that he will do well in the new setting and believe that since he still has many years ahead of him, it is worth the risk to make sure that those years are deeply enriching. We are incredibly sad to see him go, but we want to give him the chance to live his best gibbon life, and ultimately that means living with others of his species.”
Jari was born at Jackson Zoo, but she was rejected by her birth mother and was sent to Santa Barbara Zoo, where Jasmine stepped up as a surrogate mother. The two are closely bonded and zoo officials expect they will be compatible with Nikko’s playful and outgoing personality.
Oakland Zoo zookeepers will accompany Nikko to Santa Barbara, driving down on Nov. 27, and will monitor Nikko to see how he transitions to the new surroundings. All three gibbons will be closely monitored in the coming weeks during introductions.
After three weeks or so, a decision will be made on whether Nicco fits in with his new family and surroundings, or whether he will return to Oakland.
