ASHEBORO -- The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro is keeping four gorillas that were about to be shipped out, and looking to bring in three more in the spring. Two months ago, the zoo was ready to send its youngest gorillas, Bomassa and Apollo, and their mothers away to another zoo, along with an unrelated female. The transfer was recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Gorilla Species Survival Plan, which ultimately recommended that the gorillas stay.

Ken Reininger, General Curator at the Zoo tell us some upgrades will improve their home.

"We're mostly renovating what's already there. We are going to add a little bit of space, but there were some things that needed to happen to this facility and as you might imagine, you can't do major renovations to a place like that when the animals are still living in them."

The possibility of losing five gorillas brought a flood of donations to the N.C. Zoological Society, the zoo's nonprofit support organization. Those donations will fund expansion of the zoo's gorilla facilities. An adult male gorilla will be joining the troop along with another female and her grandson. They're coming from Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo next spring.