Bonane is very playful and used to joke around with her younger brother Kwibesha and her uncle Kayenga when she lived in the Kabirizi family. When her grandmother Nsekuye was alive they could often be seen together - the grandmother grooming the baby. Gorillas groom each other every day, especially when the sun is out, to search out flees and other insects that bother them. They also lick each other to cure sores or open wounds.

Sometime between September 2007 and December 2008 Bonane emigrated from the Kabirizi family to the Humba family. Her mother Janja stayed behind in Kabirizi and actually had another baby. Gorillas sometimes migrate - and we are not always sure why; it just happens.

Bonane is, of course, the francophone Swahili version of Bonne Annee which means Happy New Year in English. It is always special to be born on the first day of the year!