Louisville Zoo welcomes new western lowland gorilla Patty

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The Louisville Zoo announced on Monday it’s getting a new addition. Patty, an 11-year-old western lowland gorilla, will be joining the zoo’s award-winning Gorilla Forest habitat.

Patty, who was born at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, will join the gorilla troop of silverback Casey (42 years old), adult females Paki 35 years old) and Kweli (40 years old) and young female Kindi (8 years old). The zoo said Patty and her family group will be in exhibit rotation with bachelor groups including Bengati, Jelani, Cecil and Kicho.

>>>WATCH: Louisville Zoo welcomes new female gorilla Patty

Patty comes to the zoo with a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan. She will eventually be paired with silverback gorilla, Casey.

Patty’s zookeepers say she is a socially savvy gorilla, and that she’s acclimating smoothly.

Louisville Director Dan Maloney expressed his excitement about Patty’s arrival.

“Welcoming Patty to the Louisville Zoo adds an exciting new element to Gorilla Forest,” Maloney said. “Welcoming a relatively young, unrelated female gorilla to our Zoo is quite an accomplishment and we credit her addition to the hard work of our Animal Care Team. We are eager to witness her growth, and hopefully see her successfully become a mom with male gorilla Casey soon!”