Breaking from my intended flow to address an Anonymous message that came through to my blog this morning via the comment form. A question was asked, and the only way I can reply if there is no return email included is in a post. Depending on the content, I got no problem doing this. That said, if anyone is going to submit a message that needs a reply, best to include an email address.
The question was about the April 16 Joint Zoo Committee Meeting Agenda, which contained the March 2026 Animal Transactions.
"...after seeing the Zoo's social media post about acquiring Dara the gorilla and 2 lemurs. Did the zoo donate one of the orangutans to Honolulu Zoo and one of the female gorillas to Como Park Zoo or is the agenda incorrect and the zoo is acquiring both?"
When I read these notations, I too was confused. Since there are folks who are interested, and the documents are made public, I think the Zoo needs to do a better job of clarifying information. Over the years I have made suggestions pertaining to some issues that need improving, but unfortunately, no changes have been made. Foremost, the Minutes from the Meetings (posted sometime after the Agenda) are severely lacking, only slight mentions, when more detail should be included, especially from Public Comment. I suggested a video stream (doesn't need to be Live), so those interested can listen to all that transpires. It's not hard, can be done on a cell phone. If teenagers can do it on tiktok, surely the Zoo can figure it out. I've also brought up that some deaths have "pending" noted for cause, but are never followed up on. This is not really an issue for me personally, but if it's going to be noted, it needs a follow-up. In the case of Live Animal Transactions like the one in today's question, there should be clarification whether this is a current Animal that is coming or going, or previous transfer that is strictly Ownership paperwork.
When I looked at the Agenda, the first page shows...
Donation to: Honolulu Zoo
0.1 (female) Sumatran Orangutan
Admittedly, I freaked out, thinking they were sending our Amoi away. With the whole sad Chimp transfers, and previous mention of acquiring another female, it's understandable. If the Zoo hadn't created PTSD by getting rid of so many beloved Animals, I might have comprehended it immediately. I didn't even realize until writing this that it notates a Sumatran, not Bornean. That said, after a few minutes, I remembered that our previous Orangutan Violet (who left SF in 1995), is now at Honolulu Zoo, and this was probably just paperwork. She is a Sumatran/Bornean hybrid, and our Amoi is Bornean. Until this "Donation", we still owned Violet, so this just changes her "Loan" status to Ownership.
The Transactions continued on the second page showing...
Donation to: Como Zoo
0.2 (females) Western Lowland Gorillas
This is the confusing one, and I'm not really sure what it means, so the following info is a mixture of actual fact and personal thought.
Initially, I thought maybe they were sending two of our current ladies to Como. Then, I remembered Nneka, who moved to Cleveland. Considering my knowledge of the history of our Gorilla troop, as far as I know, she is the only female who has been moved to another Zoo as far back as the 80s. Then, I thought maybe Cleveland is moving Nneka and we are moving one, transferring Ownership of both. This not knowing was hyping me up a bit, so I contacted someone and asked for clarification. I was told it was all paperwork, no one in SF was leaving. That said, this does not explain the notation of 0.2 females, or to Como, but for the time being, my mind was at ease, and I sought no further information.
Yesterday, the Zoo announced three new arrivals. A female Gorilla, and a male/female pair of Blue-Eyed Black Lemurs, all from Como Zoo.
First, it's curious none of these were on the March Transactions, considering the Gorilla is noted by the Zoo as already here. There is also a curiosity about the Lemurs, I'll note later.
So Gorilla go-round. Who knows what is going on with that notation. Seemingly, from what information is available, something is amiss.
SF Acquired 0.1 (female) from Como. Noted yesterday by Zoo, but not on any public Transaction documents to date. No idea about the second one notated, unless Cleveland is moving Nneka. Otherwise it appears to be a mistake.
The Acquisition of Lemurs 1.1 (male.female) has not appeared on any public Transaction document in 2025 or 2026, that I saw. I got old eyes and overwhelmed mind, so if I missed something, I apologize.
The other thing is the once again questionable purpose of the Joint Zoo Committee. The Zoo is allegedly supposed to get "Approval" from the Committee for Animal Transactions, but that never seems to be what actually happens. I first noticed this with Orangutan Amoi, as she arrived here before her Acquisition appeared on the Agenda for Approval. Unless I missed something, this is also seemingly the case with Dara's arrival as well.
Hope with all this thus far, I didn't confuse things more. I tried to be as explanatory as possible, for all readers.
I am happy to hear about the arrival of Gorilla Dara. After previous Silverback Oscar Jonesy passed away, I thought and wrote that I hoped they would acquire another female, as I felt bad for Kimani who has seemingly been outcast by both Bawang and Monifa since she arrived in 2019. She had a friend in Jonesy, but with him gone, she needed a friend. She now has Cecil, as I hoped, but a new lady will be nice. Although, who knows how the female dynamics will shape up now, with a Silverback to vie for.
Lemur curiosity. Sometime last year in one of the Zoo Newsletters, it was noted that we have received a pair of Blue-Eyed Black Lemurs for breeding. That exciting news was followed by sentences basically notating that the public would never see them, this was a behind the scenes event. Myself and other Members I know were bummed about this, and in my opinion announcing such an event was unnecessary, if the public would not be able to have the experience of viewing offspring. I never got around to writing about this, even though I did take photos of the Lemur Aviaries from the backside that faces into the Madagascar area. I had planned to post them as a mock-up idea of how they could have limited viewing of this future family, from that perspective.
This new notation of acquisition and exhibition, should be clarified, as to whether this is the same pair, or a new pair? There was never an update to the one's previously mentioned. No photos of them here, no breeding mentions, no nothing. Even if behind the scenes, in my opinion, since they were mentioned, an update was due.
Additionally, last Thursday April 16, there was the RecPark Full Commission Meeting. I haven't watched the video for that so I have no idea what transpired, and if there's anything for me to react to in a post. Since I just spent near four hours on this, I can't add any new Zoo stuff into my thoughts at this moment, as I want to finish that long overdue post this weekend, so I can delete it from my mind.
Previous Post:
*The Selfish Panda Want Setting Our Zoo Up To Fail?
https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2026/04/is-selfish-panda-want-setting-our-zoo.html
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