Bobby’s new brown eyed girl causes stir on Gorilla “Love Island”

She’s 5ft tall, weighs around 65 kilos and has glossy black hair all over! She may not be everyone’s cup of tea but ZSL’s new female gorilla has certainly set one heart racing.

Mjukuu, or ‘Jookie’ as she’s nicknamed, is now a permanent resident of ZSL London Zoo’s Gorilla Kingdom which was opened in Easter 2007 and was partly funded with a legacy left to ZSL London Zoo by a long-serving volunteer as well as donations on the gate. Through the development of this exhibit ZSL has pledged to contribute £500,000 to the conservation of gorillas in the wild through their conservation programmes. She’s proving quite a hit with male silverback Bobby; so much so that the pair took to consummating their relationship a staggering 17 times in just four days.

Jookie, nine, joins the 25-year-old male gorilla and two females Effie, 15, and Zaire, 33, from a group of eleven gorillas at another zoo, and it looks like her social skills are paying off.

Her arrival has caused quite a stir with gentle giant Bobby; zookeepers say he is captivated by his new love interest.

Jookie is said to be quite the show off; not only does she enjoy stealing Bobby’s food but she is often seen walking around with sacks on her head.

Despite being ‘love rivals’ for Bobby’s affections, the three females are getting on famously and visitors can see all four gorillas enjoying each others company on the island.

Dan Simmonds, a Zookeeper at Gorilla Kingdom, said: “Jookie has this ‘butter wouldn’t melt look’ to her and she gets away with murder where Bobby is concerned- he’s taken quite a shine to her. The other two females also get along with her very well- she seems to have them all wrapped around her little finger.”

Mjukuu 'Jookie
Photo Credit: ZSL -DS