Cecil, a 26-year-old male silverback Western lowland gorilla, sits in the Jones Family Gorilla Preserve at the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (Nancy Chan/San Francisco Zoo via Bay City News)

San Francisco Zoo’s newest gorilla is preparing to make his public debut this weekend, two months after his arrival.

Cecil, a 26-year-old silverback western lowland gorilla, came to the San Francisco Zoo in early August and has slowly acclimated to the zoo’s gorilla preserve. He will lead the zoo’s family group of gorillas as the only male. 

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Alise is a general assignment reporter with a focus on covering government, elections, housing, crime, courts and entertainment in San Francisco and on the Peninsula. Alise is a Bay Area native from San Carlos. She studied history at University of California, Santa Cruz and first started journalism at Skyline College’s school newspaper in San Bruno. She has interned for Bay City News and for Eesti Rahvusringhääling, or Estonian Public Broadcasting. She has covered everything from the removal of former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus to the divisive battle over the Great Highway on San Francisco’s west side. Please send her any tips.