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[Gregory Rehbein <suedehead73 AT yahoo.com>]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - It wasn't the romantic Valentine's Day rendezvous the South African public eagerly anticipated, but zoo officials hope a newly matched gorilla pair can still hit it off.

 Lisa the gorilla met her new partner Makoko, a gorilla brought from Germany, for the first time on Monday after he spent 45 days in quarantine in an enclosure next to hers -- to give them time to sniff each other out.

And while there were no visible sparks at their first encounter, the two have shown signs of mutual attraction.

"They've acknowledged the presence of each other, they've been eating their breakfast. They've been sitting outside in the sun together. For us it's been an extremely successful Valentine's Day," said Johannesburg zoo curator Philip Cronje.

"I think that's what everybody's here to expect. They want to see them cuddling. It's Valentine's Day -- gorillas must cuddle. Only problem is we're working with animals. But I'm sure they will," he said as journalists and curious members of the public crowded outside the gorilla pen to watch.

Lisa has been single since her previous celebrity partner Max died of old age last year. Max rose to fame in 1997 when he confronted a gunman who leapt into his enclosure while fleeing police.

Johannesburg zoo then found Makoko -- a 19-year-old prime specimen from Germany's Munster zoo who arrived in November.

With Lisa being 14 years Makoko's senior, there is only a slim chance of the two mating. And if that does not happen, the they will simply be companions.

Cronje said the zoo hoped to find Makoko two younger females with which to produce offspring -- vital for one of Africa's endangered species

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050214/od_uk_nm/oukoe_odd_safrica_gorilla

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