January 17, 2005
By Sheree Russouw
THE other half of South Africa's most famous crime-fighting gorilla is finally set to start courting her new potential mate next month on a fitting date - Valentine's Day.
The widowed Lisa has been waiting patiently for seven months to meet 19-year-old Makoko, a German gorilla 15 years' her junior.
Lisa's longtime partner Max, who shot to fame after taking on a criminal on the run from police, died of old age in May 2004.
The yoghurt-loving Makoko - named after a river in Central Africa - arrived in South Africa in November. He will make his public debut at the zoo on 22 January when he is released from a 45-day quarantine.
Although the two gorillas have caught rare, curious glimpses of each other they have not yet met face-to-face.
At first, the zoo will introduce them to each other through mirrors installed in their respective enclosures so that the gorillas can get a good look at each other and decide if they like what they see.
Then they will get the chance to sense for themselves if they are a good match when they smell each other, separated by bars, in their enclosures.
If that works, the pair can begin setting up house. "It's very difficult to determine whether Makoko and Lisa will like each other or not, or how long it will take for them to hit it off," says zoo curator Phillip Cronje. "We just have to play it by ear and hope."
Although the chances are slim, zoo staff are praying that a successful union between the two western lowland gorillas will result in a birth. Efforts to get Max and Lisa to breed failed.
But Lisa, at 34, is classified as old in gorilla terms and Cronje says only a "slight chance" exists that the pair will produce offspring.
As insurance, the zoo is already on the prowl for two younger female companions for Makoko. "We are negotiating with other zoos to get two females for our breeding programme," says Cronje.
Both female gorillas, says Cronje, would compete for Makoko's attention - and affection. "It's good to have two females, instead of one, because it's a bit of competition. If you just have one gorilla, it's like a brother living with his sister."
But, Cronje adds, acquiring the apes is a long process. "You have to move in the right circles to get these gorillas and it depends on what animals are available and how they are related to each other."
He insists that Lisa won't be forgotten with the future arrival of the two younger ladies. "Gorillas are sociable animals and they like to form large groups. Lisa will probably become the matriarch of the group, but will still be the good-natured gorilla that she is."
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