モモタロウat the keeper window
Kyoto City Zoo · Gorilla Diary vol. 109Father · silverback
Momotaro
The family’s silverback and the gorilla at the center of this story. Momotaro is Japanese-born, unusually energetic, and known for turning everyday objects into a project.
- Born
- July 3, 2000
- Birthplace
- Ueno Zoo, Tokyo
- Lives now
- Kyoto City Zoo
The full story
Biography
Momotaro’s route to Kyoto was unusually well traveled. Born to Biju and Momoko at Ueno Zoo, he moved with his mother to Chiba as a two-year-old, returned to Ueno in 2008, and then transferred to Kyoto in 2010. The move paired a young Japanese-born male with Genki, an experienced female from Kyoto’s long-running gorilla line.
His restless curiosity became part of his public personality: zoo records describe a gorilla who runs, climbs, tumbles, drums on walls, and notices people moving outside the enclosure. Keepers also describe a more tender adult behind the spectacle: patient, kind, slightly awkward, and willing to play through the keeper window. With Genki, he has raised three sons and grown from an energetic newcomer into the steady silverback of a multigenerational family.
Profile sources
Life archive
Timeline
Born at Ueno Zoo
Momotaro was born on July 3 to Biju and Momoko and was raised by his mother.
