There is currently only one other female- Chama- in Banjoko's small group. The fourth member is a castrated male- Jabari. This male used to live in the main group under BaoBao but no doubt recognising BaoBao's age and frailty, even though castrated, Jabari stood up to him. So with the female Chama he was split off to allow BaoBao some peace. When Banjoko arrived the two groups were repositioned, with Banjoko taking over females M'Fugaji and Chama, plus the castrated male, who seems to recognise and respect Banjoko's greater power. Bao Bao has the 'older' group comprising the two old females Mandji and Mintha from their original import, plus his young son Kiango and Kiango's 'caretaker', female Nemsi. Unfortunately Kiango's mother and the one female BaoBao bred with, Gyasi, died, so the chances of him fathering any others seems remote, though its still possible with Nemsi maybe. Basically Apenheul have three females of breeding age, Mfugaji, Chama & Nemsi, but Nemsi lives with BaoBao. I presume when BaoBao dies that the two groups will be combined under Banjoko. Hopefully Kiango will be old enough by then that he won't be in any danger from the unrelated male.
In an article Apenheul wrote they will make new building for the gorillas and new outdoor area too and they will possibly keep a 3rd (bachelor) group too.
A new building is well overdue- the current one is very small and outdated, in contrast to the big area they have outdoors.
More on this can be found on Apenheul's website: Apenheul ontwikkelt de Gorillavallei - Apenheul The new enclosure will be called the Gorilla Valley and the ambition is to open it in 2028. In a new indoor enclosure and new islands, they plan to keep several gorilla groups. All this should cost around 4 million euros. Apenheul has been saving for this for a while but people can also donate money. An impression of what it should look like:
M'Fugaji. How sure is Het Apenheul that Banjoko is the sire of M'Fugaji? Have they tested her before being transferred towards the starting Banjoko band? Could not she be pregnant by that silverback from TaiBei Taiwan, BaoBao or PauPau? Although that possibility seems to be minimal, it could still be a possibility in some way.
As she never got pregnant by BaoBao before I guess it isn't his. Doubt will be removed if she doesn't give birth until autumn, otherwise maybe a DNA test might be in order just to be sure.
