The zoo’s owner and director has never forgotten her first sight of gorilla Kibabu, then 20 years old, at Taronga Zoo.

Now a grand old silverback of 36, Kibabu retires at the end of this month to Mogo with his two favourite females and their children – and Ms Padey is on a high.

“The arrival of these magnificent great apes is the pinnacle of the zoo’s 24 year history,” she said yesterday.

General manager John Appleby said everyone at the zoo was excited, but Ms Padey was “jumping out of her skin”.

 “Sally first encountered Kibabu at Taronga 16 years ago,” he said.

“She stood at the glass in awe of Kibabu as he was beating his chest during a demonstration of dominance. Since then, it has been her long-term dream to house and care for gorillas at Mogo Zoo. Her dream is about to come true and I’ve never seen her so proud and excited.”

Kibabu is retiring as leader of a larger group of gorillas at Taronga as the zoo moves to expand its breeding program’s genetic pool. He will be replaced by a younger male from a French facility, but will travel with his family members to Mogo.

“Kibabu is coming to his retirement village on the South Coast, but the great thing is he has bought his two favourite ladies,” Mr Appleby said.

He said Kibabu’s favoured female was Mouila.

At 41, Mouila is in the older age bracket for the primates, who have a life expectancy of between 45 to 50 years, and she has her hands full with her four-year-old son Mahali.

“He is cheeky,” Mr Appleby said.

He said Kibabu’s second favourite female, Kriba, would arrive with her two-year-old daughter, Kipenzi.

 “It is an amazing troupe of Gorillas,” he said.

“We could not have dreamt of a better mix.”

Kibabu has fathered 14 children and Mr Appleby said Taronga staff considered the silverback “close to a perfect leader”.

Mr Appleby said the gorilla had a reputation for watching his family carefully and resolving disputes quickly.

He said the family was expected in late August, but would have privacy for the first week, before going on display in a specially constructed facility.

“This is an amazing opportunity,” he said.

“People are so passionate about gorillas.” 

Gorillas are critically endangered in the wild and Ms Padey said Mogo would become Australia’s only privately-owned zoo to house them.

“Mogo Zoo is honoured to house and care for these amazing animals and to play a role in the global species management plan,” she said.

“The arrival of the gorillas is not only a great opportunity for Mogo Zoo, but for the Eurobodalla region, due to the overwhelming popularity of these magnificent and noble creatures.”