‘Bachelor troop’ of gorillas comes to Ohio zoo — and they may be looking for a fight

While welcoming a group of “bachelor” gorillas, a zoo in Ohio warned that it’s not going to be all roses among the apes.

Instead, thorny relations are expected.

The all male trio — named Chip, Pende and Kongo — came to the Cincinnati Zoo by way of Detroit, according to a July 24 news release from the zoo.

“We are excited to house this bachelor troop, as it is the first time the Cincinnati Zoo has housed this type of troop structure in its long history of caring for gorillas,” Victoria McGee, zoological manager of primates, said in the release.

Bachelor troops have a social dynamic that is distinct from family groups, officials said. Relationships in the all-male communities are largely based on aggression.

“Sometimes (aggression) looks like displacement between two individuals, vocal conflict, or a physical altercation. While these events may look concerning to people, they serve an important purpose in gorilla society,” officials said.

Aggressive behavior is useful because it creates and perpetuates a hierarchy, which helps the apes place themselves in and navigate throughout the community social structure.

In the wild, bachelor troops are typically groups of males who find themselves without mates, according to the Oklahoma City Zoo.

“A typical family has only one mature male and many females with offspring, so there will be quite a few males who find themselves without any lady friends,” according to the zoo.

Fewer than 175,000 western lowland gorillas remain in the wild, officials said. While about 765 of the critically endangered animals live in zoos worldwide.

Illegal hunting and disease have decimated the subspecies’ population over the past decades, according to the World Wildlife Foundation.

Visitors can view the new bachelor troop at the zoo’s Gorilla World daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., officials said.

This story was originally published July 24, 2023 at 5:42 PM with the headline "‘Bachelor troop’ of gorillas comes to Ohio zoo — and they may be looking for a fight."