A Decade of Solitude Ends with Hope for Connection

In 2015, a young male gorilla named Jojo took his first tentative steps onto grass. Until that moment, the 11-year-old ape had spent almost his entire life in a tiny cage at a private zoo in Gabon, after being taken from the wild as an infant. His family had been killed by the poachers who took him. More than a decade later, Jojo is settled into a sanctuary, but he still lives alone. He hasn’t had a family since he was taken, or indeed any gorilla friends.

Jojo’s carers at the Lekedi Foundation in Gabon want to find a companion-possibly another rescued or zoo-bred gorilla-that Jojo could live and bond with. But finding him a friend and bringing them into his life is not straightforward. The search for a suitable companion faces logistical, psychological, and practical challenges that conservationists must carefully navigate.

“He’s probably the most extreme case of isolation I’ve ever seen in a great ape,” says Prof Gillian Forrester from the University of Sussex, who is studying Jojo as part of research into great ape psychology and how to help rescued animals recover from trauma.

From Family to Captivity

Jojo was less than a year old-an infant clinging to his mother-when he was captured and sold. Most gorillas spend the first 14 to 19 years of their life in an embedded family unit, but he was kept completely alone and on public display at the private zoo that bought him. The trauma of losing his family group at such a critical developmental stage has left lasting psychological scars on the young ape.

Maxe Anaclet Makaba, who is head keeper at Lekedi and sees Jojo nearly every day, says it is clear he “craves human interaction.” The gorilla will even gather leaves for his keepers to hold, trading them for treats as a way to maintain contact. This behavior demonstrates the depth of his need for social connection, even across species boundaries.

Jojo also calls out when women he knows well visit his enclosure and then leave, making sounds that silverback males use to summon females in the wild, explains Éric Willaume, who runs the sanctuary. The behavior reveals how Jojo’s natural social instincts persist despite his isolation.

“He definitely feels lonely,” Willaume says.

Part of a Devastating Trade

Jojo is one of the more than 6,000 African primates estimated to have been bought or sold in the global trade of apes and other primates between 2000 and 2023. Thousands more are trafficked illegally for use as exotic pets, wild meat, and traditional medicine, according to the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance. The scale of the trafficking problem underscores the broader crisis facing primate populations across the continent.

Experts believe when baby great apes are taken from their group at a young age like Jojo, they are left traumatised. The psychological damage inflicted during these formative years can profoundly affect their ability to socialize and recover. Tony King, a conservationist from UK charity the Aspinall Foundation, explains the severity of this trauma.

“If they’re old enough to understand what happened to them, to understand their family was killed, they just lose the will to live,” King explains. “You see it in their eyes.”

The Challenge of Reintroduction

Finding a suitable companion for Jojo requires careful consideration of multiple factors. The companion must be compatible in age, temperament, and social development. Because Jojo missed critical years of learning gorilla social behaviors from his family group, introducing him to another gorilla carries risks. He may not know how to communicate properly with his own species, potentially leading to conflict or rejection.

The Lekedi Foundation team must also consider the physical and emotional safety of both animals during any introduction process. Gradual acclimation through barriers, scent sharing, and supervised visual contact typically precede any direct physical interaction. Even with careful planning, there are no guarantees that Jojo will successfully bond with a new companion after spending so many formative years without gorilla contact.

A Window Into Recovery

Prof Forrester’s research into great ape psychology aims to better understand how rescued animals like Jojo can recover from trauma. Her work examines the long-term effects of early social deprivation and isolation on cognitive and emotional development. The findings could inform best practices for sanctuaries worldwide that care for rescued primates with similar histories of trauma and isolation.

The study of Jojo’s case offers valuable insights into the resilience and adaptive capacity of great apes. Despite his prolonged isolation, Jojo continues to seek social connection and demonstrates behaviors rooted in his species’ natural social structure. This persistence suggests that even severely traumatized apes retain fundamental social instincts that can potentially be nurtured through appropriate companionship.

Hope for Jojo’s Future

The sanctuary team remains cautiously optimistic about finding Jojo a companion. They continue to search regional sanctuaries and coordinate with international conservation networks to identify potential candidates. The process requires patience, resources, and expertise, but the potential benefits for Jojo’s wellbeing make the effort worthwhile. A successful introduction could transform his remaining years from solitary confinement to the rich social life gorillas naturally experience.

Jojo’s story highlights the devastating consequences of the illegal primate trade and the ongoing challenges faced by conservation organizations working to rehabilitate traumatized animals. While his grass-filled enclosure at Lekedi represents a vast improvement over his former cage, true recovery may only come when he finally has the opportunity to connect with another of his own kind. The dedicated team at Lekedi continues their search, driven by the hope that Jojo will one day experience the companionship every gorilla deserves.

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