Disney Fans Meet Bakari, the New Troop Leader on Animal Kingdom's Gorilla Falls Trail
Bakari, a 21-year-old western lowland gorilla, has taken over as troop leader at Disney's Animal Kingdom after arriving from the Saint Louis Zoo. He debuted on the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail on June 30, filling a role left open since the death of Gino, the troop's longtime silverback, in September 2025.
There is a new face along the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, and he is a big one. Bakari, a 21-year-old male western lowland gorilla, has arrived at Disney's Animal Kingdom from the Saint Louis Zoo and stepped into the role the park's troop has been without since 2025: troop leader. He made his public debut on June 30.
Key Details
- Who: Bakari, a 21-year-old male western lowland gorilla
- Where: Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, Africa, Disney's Animal Kingdom
- Debut: June 30
- Came from: Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri
- Why: A transfer under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan for western lowland gorillas
Who Bakari is
At 21, Bakari is squarely into adulthood for a western lowland gorilla, the age range where males take on the silver-backed appearance and the social weight that comes with leading a group. Disney's animal care team spent time acclimating him to the habitat before he went out on view, which is standard practice for a move of this kind. A gorilla dropped straight into an unfamiliar enclosure with an unfamiliar group does not go well for anyone.
He now leads the troop that lives in the habitat guests pass on the walking trail, which means his introduction is not just a new animal to spot. It is a change in the group's entire social structure.
Why a gorilla moves between zoos
Bakari's transfer from Saint Louis was arranged through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan for western lowland gorillas. The SSP is a cooperative breeding and management program: accredited institutions coordinate which animals move where, tracking genetics across the entire North American population so the group stays diverse rather than drifting toward a handful of overrepresented bloodlines.
For a critically endangered species, that coordination is the point. Western lowland gorillas have been hit hard in the wild by poaching, habitat loss, and disease, and the managed population in accredited zoos functions as a genetic reserve. Moves like Bakari's are how that reserve stays healthy, and they are also how a troop that has lost its leader gets a new one.
The role he inherits from Gino
Bakari is filling a spot that carried a lot of history. In September 2025, Disney announced the death of Gino, a 44-year-old western lowland gorilla who had lived at Disney's Animal Kingdom for nearly 30 years and led the troop of younger gorillas. He was one of the park's original animal residents, arriving in the era when the Africa section first opened to guests.
"For nearly 30 years, Gino touched countless lives at Disney's Animal Kingdom with his playful spirit, gentle humor, and steady presence as a devoted father and troop leader."
Disney also noted that Gino left behind 14 offspring along with contributions to gorilla care and conservation practices used well beyond Orlando. Forty-four is an advanced age for a gorilla; median life expectancy in human care runs well below that.
Where to find him at Animal Kingdom
The Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail is a self-guided walking path in the Africa section of Disney's Animal Kingdom, branching off from Harambe near the entrance to Kilimanjaro Safaris. It opened with the park in 1998 under the name Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and was renamed in 2016. The trail runs past an aviary, a hippo viewing area, meerkats, naked mole rats, and two separate gorilla habitats: one for a bachelor group and one for the family troop.
Because it is a walk-through rather than a ride, there is no wait time to plan around, and no guarantee of a sighting either. Gorillas are most active in the cooler parts of the day, so early morning and late afternoon are generally the better windows.
The Buzz
- Disney's Animals, Science and Environment team announced Bakari's arrival through its own social channels, and the post spread quickly through the Disney parks fan community.
- The story landed emotionally because of what came before it: Gino was a fixture at Animal Kingdom for nearly three decades, and regular guests had watched him for most of the park's existence.
- Animal news out of Animal Kingdom rarely gets this much traction. A new troop leader is a bigger deal than a new animal because it changes the group everyone already knows.
Why fans are buzzing
Animal Kingdom regulars tend to build long relationships with individual animals in a way that does not happen with attractions. Gino was recognizable, he was there from the beginning, and his death in 2025 hit the fan community harder than most park news does. Seeing the troop get a new leader closes a loop that had been open for the better part of a year.
There is also the conservation angle, which Disney has leaned into since the park opened. Bakari did not arrive because Disney wanted a new gorilla. He arrived because a continent-wide breeding program decided this troop was where he belonged. Anyone walking the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail this summer is looking at the visible end of a fairly invisible system.