(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Brookfield Zoo’s newest resident is not quite Kong but is definitely a king.
The west suburban zoo is now permanent home to what is billed as the world’s largest bronze gorilla sculpture. The nearly 4,800-pound work of art — dubbed King Nyani — was created by Gillie and Marc Schattner as a way for humans to appreciate the gentler aspects of the critically endangered species.
Lounging at the zoo's north entrance, King Nyani (Swahili for “gorilla”) is 23 feet long and 8.5 feet high. Visitors can get close to the figure and its outstretched right hand, for photos.
“Being able to sit in his hand and look up at his gentle face we hope they will fall in love and join the movement to save the gorillas,” Gillie Schattner said in a prepared statement.
The artists were inspired to create the sculpture after observing a wild family of mountain gorillas in Uganda. The sculpture, previously displayed at Bella Abzug Park in New York City, is based on a dominant silverback gorilla that was the head of the family, the zoo said.
Gorillas share 98 percent of the same DNA as humans.
“Conservation is at the heart of everything we do at Brookfield Zoo, and creating opportunities to help understand the interconnectivity between humans, animals, and the environment is key,” said Stuart Strahl, president and CEO of the Chicago Zoological Society (CZS), which operates Brookfield Zoo.
Brookfield Zoo is home to seven western lowland gorillas — real gorillas, that is.