Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Jamani is caring for Olympia's baby boy.  Olympia is caring for Jamani's baby boy. The birth and care of two western lowland gorillas at Woodland Park Zoo have been exciting and fluid with several twists and turns along the way. The newest twist: The newborns have been switched and each mother is caring for the other’s baby—intentionally. Jamani gave birth to a son on May 18 and Olympia delivered a son on May 24 via cesarean section, an extremely rare procedure on gorillas, due to complications that indicated a non-productive labor. With intentions of introducing Olympia’s son to her the following day, Jamani picked up the baby instead and stepped in to care for both babies while Olympia recovered from the procedure and remained nearby. Each gorilla baby now has a mama nursing and caring for them. All the adults and babies are doing well and are together as a family unit.  While Jamani pull...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Woodland Park Zoo Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo One of the two male gorilla infants recently born at Woodland Park Zoo is currently under round-the-clock human care and showing signs of improvement after receiving bottle feeding to help address dehydration and increase his weight. The mom of the baby western lowland gorilla is Jamani, who gave birth to her son on May 18. The other infant gorilla was born on May 24 to Olympia via cesarean section due to complications that indicated a non-productive labor. It marked Woodland Park Zoo’s first gorilla born via C-section in its 126-year history. C-sections on gorillas are extremely rare, with under a dozen performed worldwide. The day after the C-section on Olympia, her baby was introduced to her. While she showed interest, Jamani picked up the baby instead and was caring for the two babies with Olympia nearby in the same family troop. “Jamani has been pulling double duty caring for two babies. Whi...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Jamani is caring for  two western lowland gorilla infants—hers and Olympia’s —while Olympia heals from her C-section . Sharing new photos of Woodland Park Zoo mom Jamani caring for the two western lowland gorilla infants—hers and Olympia’s—both boys. Neither baby has been named yet. Jamani is nursing both babies and everyone seems to be doing well! Olympia underwent an emergency C-section on May 24 to deliver her baby, and Jamani gave birth on May 18. The zoo is hoping to unite Olympia and her baby soon and are monitoring behaviors and the health of the babies and mothers to ensure the gorilla care team can help with that process safely and with respect to the dynamics of the gorilla troop.  Thank you for your understanding while we allow for some quiet time for this new family group! For now Olympia continues to show good signs of healing, Jamani is nursing both babies and the whole troop ...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Left: Dr. Andrew Beckstom, Neonatologist and Medical Director of Swedish Medical Center NICU. Right: Dr. Sachita Shah with Butterfly Network and U W Emergency Medicine. Photo: Nichole Hamilton/MFM Sonographer Woodland Park Zoo’s pregnant gorilla Olympia, five days past her due date, gave birth to a 5.4-pound boy on Sunday, May 24, at 1:44 p.m. (PDT) by emergency C-section performed by a local medical team who typically works on humans. This is the second baby for the western lowland gorilla; the gestation period for gorillas is eight and a half months. On average, full-term infant gorillas weigh 4 pounds. “Thanks to the teamwork of the human doctors, veterinarians, and gorilla care team, Olympia and her baby are in good health and doing well. Given the positive indicators so far, we remain optimistic but are also cautious because the situation is very fluid and fragile,” said Martin Ramirez, Curator of Mammalogy at Woodland Park Zoo. Last week, W...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Welcome to the world, precious one!  Jamani gently holds her newborn close. The community has been bubbling with excitement and anticipation over pregnancy news shared earlier this year of western lowland gorillas, Olympia and Jamani (jah-MAW-nee), due to give birth just days apart at Woodland Park Zoo. The zoo is thrilled to announce the first baby has arrived! Jamani gave birth on May 18 at 5:50 a.m. (PDT) after a gestation period of eight and a half months. The sex of the baby has not yet been determined. This is the second baby for Jamani. Nadaya (nuh-DIE-yuh) is the first-time dad of the newborn and Olympia’s baby, which is due any day. According to Martin Ramirez, Curator of Mammalogy at Woodland Park Zoo, the first 72 hours of life are the most critical for a newborn gorilla. “We’re closely observing for signs that the infant is grasping strongly to Jamani with feet and hands, mom is soft...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Welcome Razi and Mosi! There’s a new chorus of cackling at Woodland Park Zoo as spotted hyenas make their debut! Two males, 3-year-old Razi and 1-year-old Mosi, arrived from Metro Richmond Zoo located in Moseley, Virginia. The new hyenas mark the first time in 25 years for visitors to have a rare opportunity to see and learn about these skilled social hunters that are so often misunderstood. Razi and Mosi can be seen in a habitat adjacent to where the lions live in the African Savanna. The last spotted hyena at the zoo was a geriatric female named Mara who retired in 2001 in an off-view habitat until she passed away at the age of 27. Mosi, who is 1 year old, is recognizable by the notch in his ear. Razi is 3 years old. Bringing hyenas back is part of Woodland Park Zoo’s near-term and future plan to diversify the species of animals at the zoo. “Animals and people are critically interconnected and all...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications The birth watch has officially started for two pregnant western lowland gorillas who are due to give birth five days apart in May. It’s all hands on deck for Woodland Park Zoo’s animal health and gorilla care teams as they gear up for the delivery of two healthy baby gorillas.  Olympia. Photo by Beth Keplinger/Woodland Park Zoo Jamani. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo The expecting gorillas are  Olympia, due May 19, and Jamani, due May 24. The gestation period for gorillas is eight and a half months. The birth watch signals 24-hour monitoring. Overnight, zoo volunteers are observing each gorilla remotely on cams installed in the bedrooms, collecting data such as behavioral changes and sleeping patterns and looking for any telltale signs that might indicate the onset of labor. A gorilla keeper is on call to respond in case either gorilla goes into labor in the middle of the night; during the day, routine care for all the zoo’s...