Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Yola is a young adult now. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Editor’s note: Big thanks to gorilla keepers Judy Sievert, Kate Gordon, Stephanie Payne and Tesh Hunter for contributing so much to this update! The warmer temperatures of spring mean more play time for the youngest members of Kwame’s western lowland gorilla family—two of whom recently celebrated birthdays. Zuna (daughter of Nadiri and Kwame) is now 4 years old, and big brother Kitoko (son of Uzumma and Kwame) just turned 5. These siblings are still enthusiastic playmates but their “growing up gorilla” experiences are shaping their budding personalities in very different ways! Zuna is a very independent and clever girl! She is everyone’s sweetheart (both among the gorillas and the gorilla keepers), gets along with all members of her family and is quite socially savvy. She is confident enough to spend time by herself and sometimes in the company of her “bestie” (a piece ...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Editor's note: Special thanks to gorilla keepers Kate Gordon and Stephanie Payne. It is because of their hard work and close, trusting relationships with the gorillas that we can share stories like this with you. The relationships that our animal keepers have developed with gorillas, like Olympia and Nadaya seen here, have allowed our care team to more closely monitor their heart health. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Heart health is important for us all, especially as we age. This is also true for gorillas and other apes living in human care. They are susceptible to health problems related to cardiovascular disease—also known as CVD or more simply “heart disease”—just as we are. Formally established in 2010, the Great Ape Heart Project (GAHP) addresses the critical need to track and understand heart disease in great apes—including gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos that live in human care. Just like in humans, c...