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...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications with contributions from gorilla keepers Shawn Bell, Stephanie Payne and Judy Sievert. Hello, Jamani! Photo: North Carolina Zoo You may have heard about the recent  arrival of three new gorillas  at Woodland Park Zoo. They all came within the last month or so and are forming a new family group with 37-year-old Jumoke, who has been living alone since Vip (her male companion) died last year due to age-related medical issues. Olympia, Jamani and Nadaya! Photos of Olympia and Jamani by North Carolina Zoo, photo of Nadaya by Saint Louis Zoo. The two new females are 26-year-old Olympia and 22-year-old Jamani (pronounced juh-MAW-nee). They already know each other well and came here together from North Carolina Zoo. The new male is 21-year-old Nadaya (nuh-DIE-yuh) who came here from Saint Louis Zoo. It might be another week or so before you’ll be able to see the new gorillas on the public side of their habitat, so in the meantime we wanted to ...

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 with Stephanie Jacobs 12-year-old Uzumma is pregnant with her first baby. Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo In part one of this blog, gorilla keeper Stephanie Jacobs told us how first-time expectant-mother Uzumma is doing and filled us in on all the work that happens behind the scenes to prepare for a gorilla pregnancy. So let’s pick up the conversation with questions about getting ready for a birth and everything that comes next. WPZ: Thanks again, Stephanie for giving us a behind-the-scenes peek into the gorilla unit. So what happens while we all wait for this baby to be born? Obviously you and the other keepers are watching and waiting, but what else needs to happen before a baby arrives? Stephanie: So much happens! Really, we’re all over-the-moon excited [about Uzumma’s pregnancy by Kwame], but there is a lot to do. To begin with, keepers and the Animal Health Department make sure Uzumma’s BMP (birth management plan) is all ready to go. This ...