Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Our gorilla care team has lovingly named this baby Abeo, which means "bringer of happiness" in the Yoruba language. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren A week ago, Woodland Park Zoo announced its critical decision to move its 1½-month-old male gorilla to another zoo to ensure he is raised by gorillas and grows up as a gorilla. He has safely arrived at his new home, Louisville Zoo in Kentucky, where he will be socialized with a foster gorilla mom and multigenerational family of gorillas. Woodland Park Zoo’s gorilla care team has lovingly named the baby gorilla, Abeo (ah-beh-OH), which means “bringer of happiness” in Yoruba, after a language spoken in West Africa. This is Kweli, an experienced, nurturing mother and surrogate. Photo courtesy of Louisville Zoo. Every precautionary measure was taken for the baby gorilla’s travel to reduce his health exposure and ensure his safe arrival. A Woodland Park Zoo gorilla caretaker and veterinarian accomp...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo In a move to ensure a baby gorilla is raised by gorillas and grows as a gorilla, Woodland Park Zoo has made a critical decision to move its 1½-month-old gorilla boy to another zoo so he can be raised by a surrogate gorilla mom and socialized with a multigenerational family of gorillas. The baby, who has not yet been named, was born June 28 at Woodland Park Zoo to first-time mom Akenji and dad Kwame. Because Akenji hadn’t shown any interest in caring for her baby, human intervention was necessary; gorilla staff have been providing 24/7 care for the baby since shortly after he was born. Further attempts to unite mom and baby were unsuccessful. For the last several weeks, the focus has been on training three experienced gorilla moms living at the zoo as potential surrogates. Although Woodland Park Zoo has a remarkable track record with hand- and assist-rearing babies before successfully introducing t...

 Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Akenji in 2020, photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo recently tested one of its western lowland gorillas for pregnancy. Using the same type of an early-detection kit used for humans, the zoo is proud to announce the test results: two pink lines, which means a pregnant gorilla!  The expectant gorilla is 22-year-old Akenji, and this will be her first baby. Akenji is due to give birth the end of June or early July; the gestation period for gorillas is eight to nine months. It's two solid lines for Akenji! Photo by Woodland Park Zoo Is the pregnant gorilla showing a baby bump? “It’s hard to notice a belly bump because gorillas characteristically have big bellies due to the high volume of fibrous vegetation they digest,” said Rachel Vass, an interim animal care manager at Woodland Park Zoo. “However, our gorilla care staff notice she’s a little wider across her upper midsection and chest. Her belly is bigger, bu...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Hello, Zuna! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo  With World Gorilla Day coming up in just a few days (it’s September 24) this is the perfect time for an update on the youngest members of our western lowland gorilla family—Kitoko and Zuna! While mom Nadiri is trying to rest, Zuna uses that time to explore! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Little Zuna is nearly 8 months old right now and is doing great! She weighs around 11 ½ pounds now, which is double her birth weight. Zuna continues to become more and more active and while mama Nadiri tends to keep her close, she is on the move whenever she gets the chance. Sometimes, when Nadiri is trying to get some rest (because being a gorilla mama is a 24/7 job!) Zuna uses that time to venture out a bit—climbing or toddling around. She still takes bottles from the gorilla keepers a few times a day but is trying lots of solid foods now too, including cucumber, yams, carrots...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher and Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Oh, that face! Baby gorilla, Zuna, is ready to say hello to zoo visitors! The 11-week-old western lowland gorilla—the second baby for 25-year-old mom Nadiri and the first between her and 21-year-old father, Kwame, is spending a few hours outdoors each day now with her family. Their time outside in the public space, most likely between 1:45-4:30 pm, is weather-dependent and often takes place in short increments in order to accommodate the baby’s behind-the-scenes bottle-feedings. Nadiri did not immediately pick up her baby after giving birth January 29, so our gorilla keepers initially provided round-the-clock care and bottle feedings of human infant formula while they helped Nadiri build confidence as a mother and bond with her baby . Now the two are back together 24/7 and they are a great team! Nadiri’s bond with Zuna is strong. Gorilla keeper Shawn Bell tells us that Nadir...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Spring is here and our baby girl gorilla, 8-week-old Zuna, enjoyed a splash of sunshine in an off-view outdoor area. #SoakUpTheSun Precious baby Zuna in the spring sunshine   Gorilla keeper Stephanie Payne says, “It’s too early to really recognize any strong personality traits, but Zuna has the incredibly cute habit of sticking her tongue out, as evident in her photos! For now, she’s pretty mellow, but that could change as she’s more able to project her likes and dislikes.” The baby gorilla reached a new milestone last week: “Zuna’s first tooth has emerged, a lower incisor,” adds Payne. “We can’t wait for her to start walking and climbing, which should be in another couple of months.”  Little Zuna gets a taste of spring sunshine Read more about caring for baby Zuna:  Q & A with gorilla keeper Stephanie: Get the scoop on caring for Nadiri and her baby Zuna   and stay tuned t...

 Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications and Stephanie Payne, Gorilla Keeper Zuna, seen here at just about 5 weeks old, is the picture of sweetness—and those eyes are everything! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Note from the Editor: In case you haven’t already heard, our newest gorilla baby has a name ! Little Zuna—which means “sweet” in the African language, Lingala—was  born on January 29th  and is officially 6 weeks old now. She is the second baby and second daughter for 25-year-old mom Nadiri and the first between her and 21-year-old dad Kwame. Nadiri did not immediately hold and nurse her baby after giving birth, so the gorilla keepers have been providing round-the-clock care and bottle feedings of human infant formula. While Nadiri has been showing increasingly skilled maternal care and even  started to nurse Zuna —a wonderful indication of the growing bond between them—we knew that these brief bouts of nursing weren't going to be enough...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Today, March 4, is a very special day—the day we wish little Kitoko a happy 1st birthday! What better way to celebrate than to share with you some highlights from this very special western lowland gorilla's first year! 1. Birth and first days Kitoko was born on March 4, 2020 to first-time mother Uzumma and silverback male, Kwame. Instantly our collective hearts melted seeing how quickly Uzumma took to her new role —doting on her new baby, nursing him, cuddling him and patting him to sleep. No doubt, she has given him the very best start in life… and given us more memories to treasure! Watch here:  https://youtu.be/pZGHsWWaslo "I only have eyes for you!" Uzumma gazes lovingly at her newborn baby. 2. Growing, climbing and exploring! Kitoko was a bright-eyed and curious baby right from the start and he has met every milestone while growing and learning about the world around him. H...