Taronga Zoo unveils HUGE new addition
The Sydney zoo has welcomed a new animal to its menagerie, but it isn’t like the other residents of the zoo - it’s a giant statue of a gorilla.
King Nyani, the world’s largest gorilla sculpture, landed at Taronga Zoo after travelling all the way from New York and was brought to the zoo on the flatbed of a large truck.
The bronze statue, created by public artists Gillie and Marc Shattner, was inspired by King Kong and depicts a stretched out gorilla with hands that up to three people can sit in.
The huge gorilla, which weighs 2.2 tonnes and is 30-metres long, was created to spread awareness of conservation efforts for gorillas and is the third in a series of giant gorillas.
The first appeared in New York City in 2020 and now sits in Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, while the second is due to be installed at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut.
"We decided to create three editions after seeing the unbelievable response to the original Nyani in NYC. We knew that this was a cause that many people were willing to get behind," Gillie explained.
"This was a chance to inspire three times as many people to protect gorillas to save them from extinction.”
“We wanted to create a sculpture where the public could really get close to the silverback, both physically and emotionally,” Gillie said. “Being able to sit in his hand and look up into his gentle face, we hope they will fall in love and join the movement to save the gorillas.”
King Nyani now sits next to the Centenary Viewing Platform, metres away from the zoo’s breathtaking harbour views.
Image: Taronga Zoo