National Zoo staff are "cautiously optimistic" that the newborn, who is the second infant born to 20-year-old mother gorilla Calaya and 31-year-old father Baraka, will survive.
For the first time in five years, a critically endangered western lowland gorilla baby has been born at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. (Courtesy Valerie Schultz/Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute)
(Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
The newborn is the second infant born to 20-year-old mother gorilla Calaya and 31-year-old father Baraka. (Courtesy Valerie Schultz/Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute)
(Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
The infant’s sex hasn’t been determined. (Courtesy Valerie Schultz/Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute)
(Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
The Great Ape House, where the western lowland gorilla family resides, is closed until Tuesday so that the infant can bond with its mother. (Courtesy Valerie Schultz/Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute)
(Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
After the Great Ape House reopens, the two will have access to a private, off-exhibit area and may not be on view at all times. (Courtesy Valerie Schultz/Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute)
(Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
For the first time in five years, a critically endangered western lowland gorilla baby has been born at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)
For the first time in five years, a critically endangered western lowland gorilla baby has been born at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute)
A baby western lowland gorilla — a critically endangered species — was born early Saturday morning at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, according to a news release.
Zoo staff are “cautiously optimistic” that the newborn, who is the second infant born to 20-year-old mother gorilla Calaya and 31-year-old father Baraka, will survive. Calaya and Baraka’s first offspring, Moke, celebrated his fifth birthday on April 15.
“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,” said Becky Malinsky, the zoo’s curator of primates.
The newborn gorilla, whose sex has yet to be confirmed, is “clinging closely to its mother,” the zoo said. They are allowing the two time to bond without interference — as such, the Great Ape House, where the western lowland gorilla family resides, is closed until Tuesday.
The zoo said that while Calaya and her newborn will be on exhibit when the Great Ape House reopens, they will have access to a private, off-exhibit area and may not be on view at all times.
Calaya and Baraka bred in September 2022, following a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, the release said. A human pregnancy test was used in October 2022 to confirm Calaya had successfully conceived.
Calaya, Baraka, Moke and the new baby also live with a 41-year-old female western lowland gorilla named Mandara and her 14-year-old daughter, Kibibi, according to the zoo.
Dana Sukontarak is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. She loves haiku poetry, short sci-fi stories and word games. She grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and currently lives in Silver Spring.
