Born 1988 in a laboratory. Actual birthday: July 19th
When Wildlife Waystation closed in 2019, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest continued our planned expansion to make a home for another group of chimpanzees in need. Gordo arrived with the rest of the “Lucky Six” on June 26, 2021. The Lucky Six were integrated with Honey B, Willy B, and Mave in April of 2022 and now live in a group of nine.
Gordo was born at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP). His records say that his mother was Andrea and his father was Les. That means he is a half sibling to Dora among many other chimpanzees at other sanctuaries. He is also a full sibling to a set of twins, Amber and Alyse. Amber is currently at Wildlife Waystation awaiting the move to her new home at Chimp Haven in Louisiana, but Alyse unfortunately passed away in August of 2022.
When LEMSIP closed in 1996, Gordo went to Wildlife Waystation along with over 30 other chimpanzees.
Gordo can be pretty aloof with the humans at his new sanctuary home, but he is slowly opening up and playing games of chase with his caregivers- especially first thing in the morning. He likes to spit mouthfuls of water, both in play and possibly to put us humans in our place. He lives for meal times and will eat ALL the food, thank you. He is pretty comfortable with the grass in the greenhouse habitats and enjoys looking through the grass for uneaten bits of food and seeds. He also enjoys when his caregivers wear a donated antique troll doll mask to play games of chase with him.
Become Gordo’s Pal today!
Gordo’s 6 Pals: Marcie Milam; The Mylet Family; Laurenn Reed; and Desmond, Natalie and Mateo Ballard Strauhal.
Including Pals of The Whole Family (all sixteen chimpanzees!): Monica Best; and Jennifer Wei.
