A 13-year-old gorilla seen by thousands of park visitors over the last decade has departed Kent for a new life in the wild.

Joshi, who weighs in at 30-stone and is a young silverback, was born and raised at Howletts Wild Animal Park - but he has now began a new chapter on a reserve in Congo.

The team at the Aspinall Foundation, which also runs Port Lympne, stress that their ambition is to get animals into the wild where they belong.

Since the late 80s, the foundation has led a successful rewilding project in Africa and Joshi was chosen to be the next inductee to the Lesio-Louna Reserve.

Before being waved off by keepers, Joshi underwent extensive veterinary checks and went on to leave the UK from Stansted in a specially-designed transport crate.

He stopped off at Luxembourg and then continued on to Brazzaville in Congo on a journey covering more than 5,500 miles.

He is now on the reserve - acclimatising to his new environment, weather and diet.

After a few months settling in, Joshi will graduate to the next stage of his rewilding, which will see him living wild and free in forests under the protection of the Aspinall team.

Damian Aspinall, chairman of the foundation, said: “The Aspinall Foundation fundamentally believes that, wherever possible, animals belong in the wild.

"This project is the latest exciting chapter in a story going back more than 30 years.

"We are incredibly proud that, despite a global pandemic, we have successfully translocated Joshi to begin the first stage of his rewilding journey. Based on our previous successful rewilding projects, we expect Joshi to quickly adapt to his new life and we will keep our supporters updated every step of the way.”

"We have already returned 70 western lowland gorillas, eight black rhino, two cheetahs, 159 langurs and gibbons, 12 European bison, 20 mandrill and 11 Przewalski horses to protected areas of their ancestral homelands."

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.

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