One of Animal Kingdom's original cast members is celebrating his 41st birthday – all 400 pounds of him. Meet Gino the Gorilla.
Gino has 14 kids. The ladies love him. He loves to wake up and head straight to his rock, where he perches in plain sight of Animal Kingdom's early park guests at Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail.
Rachel Daneault is the primate zoological manager. She started at Animal Kingdom in her 20s, just like Gino.
Before Animal Kingdom opens on any given day, Rachel and her team are preparing enrichment for the gorillas in their habitat. Enrichment includes smearing chickpeas on custom-made boards for the gorillas to enjoy, filling up canteens with seeds and nuts, and adding cinnamon to the nesting hay.
Rachel used to work with small mammals, reptiles, and birds. That was in 1998. Then, in 2001, she transitioned to the primate carnivore team, and “the rest is history.”
Disney's silverback gorilla, Gino, is something of a pioneer as one of the first gorillas in the world to allow his caretakers to perform cardiac ultrasounds without anesthesia. Cardiac disease is one of the leading causes of death in gorillas.