Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher with Stephanie Jacobs Uzumma, who is pregnant with her first baby due next spring, is doing really well! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo We recently announced that Uzumma, our 12-year-old western lowland gorilla, is expecting her first baby next March. The father is 20-year-old Kwame and this baby will be their first offspring together. Kwame arrived at Woodland Park Zoo in 2018 following the unexpected death of Leonel . The absence of a silverback (a male leader and protector) can be very destabilizing for a gorilla family, but Kwame’s confident leadership has unified the whole family group over this last year—enabling Uzumma and her whole troop to be ready for this exciting new chapter. We chatted with animal keeper Stephanie Jacobs to find out how our gorilla team prepares for a gorilla pregnancy and why they think Uzumma has what it takes to be a great first-time mother. Kwame—silverback of the family, and father of Uzumma&#

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications We've got some very lovely news to share, Uzumma, a western lowland gorilla is pregnant for the first time! The expectant father is 18-year-old Kwame. Uzumma in her favorite treetop spot. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Uzumma, who turns 12 in October, has just ended the first trimester of her pregnancy and is due to give birth in March 2020. The gestation period for gorillas is eight to nine months, similar to humans. The last birth of a gorilla at Woodland Park Zoo was Yola, a female gorilla born in November 2015. Woodland Park Zoo is renowned for its successful gorilla breeding program and its excellent birth management plans , including pre- and post-natal care. To help ensure a successful pregnancy and birth, the pre-natal care includes regular veterinary check-ups leading up to the birth, a diet created by a nutritionist, supplemental vitamins to help Uzumma maintain a healthy weight for a normal delivery

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Written by Stephanie Payne, gorilla keeper Note from the Editor: It’s time for an update on Woodland Park Zoo’s gorilla family. Beginning on Tuesday, April 23, our eight western lowland gorillas will be off public view for a few weeks to accommodate some improvements to their exhibit areas. While you might not be able to see them from the public viewing areas, a lot has been going on behind the scenes. Animal keeper Stephanie Payne brings us up to speed on relationship dynamics within the group and what the future might hold for them. Uzumma enjoys a snack while surveying the view from above. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Spring is in the air for the gorillas! Whether it’s seeing Vip lying in the sun, Akenji tearing apart the barberry in order to get to their blooms, or Uzumma enjoying the view from the highest perches of the climbing structures in her habitat, it is clear that we’re all enjoying the warmer te

Written by Stephanie Payne-Jacobs, gorilla keeper Note from the Editor: We told you earlier about Kwame , a ninteen-year-old male western lowland gorilla who came to Woodland Park Zoo from Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. just last month. That story picks up here in the words of Stephanie Payne-Jacobs, one of our dedicated gorilla keepers. She reminds us of why Kwame was chosen to be the new silverback for a group of our females and then takes us through their first days of forming a family.  Kwame, pictured at his former home, Smithsonian's National Zoo/Photo: Skip Brown Beginnings Our search for a new silverback, the adult male leader of a gorilla family, began just weeks after Leo’s passing in March 2018. While still processing the loss of sweet Leo, we knew we had to begin the search in order to bring a sense of normality back to the lives of the females Leo had left behind. These females, 22-year-old Nadiri, 17-year-old Akenji, Uzumma, who is

Posted by Stephanie Payne-Jacobs, gorilla keeper 39-year-old Vip, named for being a Very Important Primate, is back home in his exhibit after a long recovery. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo After a year of challenges and changes in the gorilla unit, we have much to celebrate this month. The first is the return of 39-year-old male, Vip, to the East gorilla exhibit, along with 33-year-old female, Jumoke. Vip, who is the father of seven daughters, including our own 17-year-old Akenji, 10-year-old Uzumma and nearly 3-year-old Yola, has been off view for more than a year now—since June of 2017. That’s when he underwent a lifesaving surgery due to an infection within a long-established umbilical hernia. Vip was born with this hernia in 1979, and it had remained stable since he came to Woodland Park Zoo in 1996. Vip underwent lifesaving surgery in 2017. Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo In the summer of 2017, his care team noticed a subtle change in t