Children visiting the century-old Mysore zoo never a visit to see Polo, a western lowland gorilla. Heisthe only gorilla exhibited in any zoo in India. The 46-year-old male gorilla, gifted by the Dublin Zoo, in Ireland on May 12, 1995, is a star attraction. The primate has been without a companion for the last 10 years.
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Polo has been the most-watched exhibit. He has been zoo for 19 years now. The first gorillas of the zoo — Sumati and Sugriva — were brought to Mysore in 1977 and they hogged the limelight until Polo arrived. Sugriva died within a year of its stay. The zoo managed to get a companion for Sumati when Israel gifted Bobo, a male gorilla, in the 80s. Sadly, it (Bobo) too did not live long.
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Sumathi once again became lonely and was without a companion until Polo arrived. Somehow, Sumati did not find him (Polo) a “perfect” companion. Sumati died of a cardiac arrest on October 4, 2000. Thereafter, Polo has been single. Most of the time Polo remains confined to a corner of its enclosure. He beats his chest, claps and, sometimes, makes a loud noise on seeing visitors.
If the primate is sleeping in a corner of the enclosure, visitors do not mind waiting to get its glimpse.
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In spite of repeated attempts, the Mysore zoo has been unsuccessful in getting a companion for Polo. None of the zoos in the world or organisations working for conservation of the endangered species are ready to spare one for the Mysore zoo. After several futile attempts, the zoo had almost “called off” their search for a “perfect” companion for Polo to end its loneliness.
However, in the wake of some “recent clearances of animal exchanges” with foreign zoos, there seems to be some hope to get a mate for Polo.