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 Woodland Park Zoo Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo The newest little gorilla baby is healthy, thriving, and growing! A lot of you have been asking for an update on our baby gorilla. You may recall 22-year-old western lowland gorilla Akenji gave birth to a baby boy on June 28 . She showed no interest in the infant after he was born or in the following days, so our expert gorilla care staff has been caring for the baby 24/7 and providing everything this baby needs to get off to a good start in life. "Our team in the gorilla unit is dedicated to providing this infant with the care, nutrition and safety he needs at this early stage, and we are continuing to assess the female gorilla surrogate options. Having a gorilla mother-figure is critical to his development and wellbeing, and we are committed to finding the right match so that this baby can thrive and grow up gorilla." says Martin Ramirez, Senior Director of Animal Care and General Cur...