Jojo the gorilla has spent his life alone. Can he finally find a companion?

Until that moment, the 11-year-old ape had spent almost his entire life in a tiny cage at a private zoo in Gabon, after being taken from the wild as an infant. His family had been killed by the poachers who took him. More than a decade later, Jojo is settled into a sanctuary – but he still lives alone.

He hasn't had a family since he was taken, or indeed any gorilla friends. Jojo's carers at the Lekedi Foundation in Gabon want to find a companion - possibly another rescued or zoo-bred gorilla – that Jojo could live and bond with. But finding him a friend - and bringing them into his life - is not straightforward.

Most gorillas spend the first 14 to 19 years of their life in an embedded family unit but he was kept completely alone and on public display at the private zoo that bought him. Maxe Anaclet Makaba, who is head keeper at Lekedi and sees Jojo nearly every day, says it is clear he "craves human interaction". "He will even go to the trouble of gathering leaves for us to hold, so that we [trade them] for a treat – to interact with us," he says.