Santa Barbara Zoo welcomes new white-handed gibbon
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Santa Barbara Zoo family is growing.
The zoo announced Monday it had added a 37-year-old male white-handed gibbon named Bono to its animal community.
Bono was moved from the Sequoia Park Zoo, where he had lived since 1984.
He'll be a companion to the zoo's 41-year-old female gibbon, Jasmine.
Both gibbons recently lost their companions. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums matched the two.
Bono's previous companion of 35 years died last year after several months of illness. Jasmine's longtime mate, Gulliver, died at the age of 39 in 2016.
Last year, a five-year-old white-handed gibbon named Jari died in a freak accident at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Her head got tangled in a net, and she was found not breathing. She had been brought to the zoo in 2017 to spend time with Jasmine.
"Gibbons are social creatures and live in lifelong monogamous pairs," shared Dr. Julie Barnes, the Zoo's Vice President of Animal Care and Health. "We have been looking for a companion for Jasmine since her elderly male mate Gulliver passed away in 2016. After losing her younger companion, Jari, last year, we're hopeful Bono will be a wonderful match. We look forward to Jasmine and Bono living out their golden years here with us at the Santa Barbara Zoo"
