Advertisement

Endangered baby gorilla is first born at DC zoo in 5 years. See mom give it cuddles

Daniella Segura
·2 min read

A gorilla mom can’t stop cuddling the newborn she welcomed at a Washington, D.C. zoo, the first in five years.

Calaya, 20, gave birth to the western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species, on Saturday, May 27, sometime between midnight and 6:15 a.m., the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute said in a May 28 news release.

This is the second baby for Calaya and father Baraka, 31, according to the zoo.
This is the second baby for Calaya and father Baraka, 31, according to the zoo.

“Calaya is an experienced mother, and I have every confidence she will take excellent care of this baby, as she did with her first offspring, Moke,” Becky Malinsky, curator of primates, said in the release.

This is the second baby for Calaya and father Baraka, 31, with Moke being their first in 2018, the zoo said.

“Calaya is an experienced mother, and I have every confidence she will take excellent care of this baby,” Becky Malinsky, curator of primates, said.
“Calaya is an experienced mother, and I have every confidence she will take excellent care of this baby,” Becky Malinsky, curator of primates, said.

“Keepers are most excited to see how Moke will react to and interact with his new sibling — especially once the baby becomes active and independent,” the zoo said.

Photos shared by the zoo show the mother closely nursing and cradling the newborn, who is nestled in its mother’s chest.

“Because Calaya is cradling her newborn closely, it may be some time before animal care staff can determine its sex,” the zoo said in a Facebook post.

The zoo said the “family is doing well” and that the baby “appears to be healthy and strong.”

Keepers confirmed Calaya was pregnant in October using “a common human pregnancy test,” according to the zoo.

The new babe joins the zoo’s group of gorillas, or troop, which consists of five others, the zoo said.
The new babe joins the zoo’s group of gorillas, or troop, which consists of five others, the zoo said.

The zoo said Calaya was trained to “participate voluntarily in ultrasounds,” so staff was able to monitor the baby’s growth throughout her pregnancy.

The new babe joins the zoo’s group of gorillas, or troop, which consists of “Calaya, Baraka, Moke … as well as a 41-year-old female named Mandara and her 14-year-old daughter, Kibibi,” according to the zoo.

The zoo said the “family is doing well” and that the baby “appears to be healthy and strong.”
The zoo said the “family is doing well” and that the baby “appears to be healthy and strong.”

Western lowland gorillas, native to Africa, are considered critically endangered because of “habitat loss, disease and poaching,” the zoo said.

“Scientists estimate that in the past 20 to 25 years, the number of wild western lowland gorillas has decreased by 60%,” according to the zoo.

The exact number of the species alive today is unknown, as some inhabit “dense and remote rainforests,” according to World Wildlife Fund.

The species can live for 30 to 40 years in the wild and “into their 50s” under human care, according to the zoo.

Two of the ‘rarest big cats on the planet’ born at Colorado zoo. Look at the cute cubs

Watch mother chimp hold newborn after giving birth in front of visitors at NC Zoo

You can soon see pygmy hippos at this popular NC science center. Take a look