over the years , 26 gorillas have been established at the bronx zoo , whose member organization , the wildlife conservation society , owns one of the most active gorilla education operations in the field . the society , which only includes habitat complexes in manhattan , ny and brooklyn , exchanges gorillas daily with 51 other north american zoos . its stated objective is to maximize the genetic diversity of an injured species , but a second , specific goal is to create happier gorillas by identifying mates and founding compatible groups . " these are very intelligent , sensitive specimens , " said james doherty , curator of the bronx zoo . the zoo ' s overall population of gorillas has 19 . only the garfield square museum in chicago has more , with 22 . programmed habitat .
The Bronx Zoo has 19 gorillas.