All the Last Gorilla in India Wants Is a Date

[Marilyn. 340]

You know those nice guys who just can’t seem to find a special someone? Meet Polo, a 36-year-old male who’s been unattached for the past eight years, ever since his mate died in 2000. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, he now lives in southern India—in a zoo. Polo is the only gorilla left in all of India. (Although in Spain, he’d practically be considered human, for legal purposes.)

Zookeepers say Polo is healthy, friendly, and bilingual (he understands both English and the local Kannada language), but extremely lonely. “The few joys he enjoys are bathing and searching for food that his keeper hides in blocks of ice or in bamboo to keep him energized,” says Vijay Ranjan Singh, the director of the zoo. Polo is a western lowland gorilla, an endangered species found in central Africa. In the wild, a handsome silverback like Polo would be leading a troop of up to 30 gorillas, most of them female.

Fearing for Polo’s psychological well-being, zookeepers are putting out a desperate call for potential mates or companions. They say they’ve already contacted all the major zoos in the world, but no one seems willing to part with their gorillas. Too bad Craigslist personals doesn’t have a category for ape seeking ape—though this comes close.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblo...ants-is-a-date/

India's only gorilla lonely without companion

MUMBAI, India - India's only gorilla is lonely.

Even though Polo is 6 feet tall, dark-haired, bilingual and good-natured, the 36-year-old silverback gorilla is still single after a fruitless eight-year search.

"We have written to all major zoos in the world. We have tried everything," said Vijay Ranjan Singh, the director of the zoo in Mysore, a city in southern India about 525 miles southeast of Mumbai.

Polo, who was sent to Mysore from Ireland's Dublin Zoo in 1995, has been alone since 2000 when his mate, 46-year-old Sumathi, died.

Singh said that because gorillas are considered highly endangered, other zoos are reluctant to part with theirs. The Mysore zoo doesn't want to send Polo abroad to find a friend because he is India's only gorilla. Also, animal transfers are usually done within the framework of breeding programs that are often regional.

Worried that failure to find a companion for Polo could cause him psychological harm, his keepers decided to make one final plea. "He needs psychological and emotional enrichment that we can't provide," Singh said by telephone from Mysore on Thursday.

Polo is a western lowland gorilla, native to the forests of central Africa. Silverback gorillas — marked with a distinctive patch — are dominant males who usually live in family groups in the wild.

"He is not very happy. The few joys he enjoys are bathing and searching for food that his keeper hides in blocks of ice or in bamboo to keep him energized," Singh said.

For the prospective mate, Singh says Polo is good-natured and responds to commands in both the local Kannada language and English.

"He is in fine health, but lonely," Singh said. "After eight years, anyone would be."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27337814/

[MrsCat 6]

I've so shared that look on his face a few Friday nights or two - sigh - no phone calls - no dates.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Gorillas are people too. Poor guy. They should at least buy him a fern or let him have a cat.

[IAMX 3,055]

Whoa, Vijay Singh does both zookeeping and golfing! Pretty talented, I'd say.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Whoa, Vijay Singh does both zookeeping and golfing! Pretty talented, I'd say.

#######???

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Whoa, Vijay Singh does both zookeeping and golfing! Pretty talented, I'd say.

#######???

SRVT confused the zoo-director's name (take as equivalent of "Bob Smith" in India; likely this zoo-director has never been out of India, especially to Fiji) with that of golfer Vijay "Big Fijian" (born in Lautoka) Singh.

[mRx 16]

That's funny.

Come to think of it, I personally haven't met a single Hindu that had a last name other than Singh.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

That's funny.

Come to think of it, I personally haven't met a single Hindu that had a last name other than Singh.

Are you confusing Hindus with Sikhs?

Amongst Hindus, the name Singh is generally restricted to Rajputs and Thakurs (who certainly do not make up the majority of Hindu immigrants to US, UK or Canada).