Baby Watch: Woodland Park Zoo Gorilla to Give Birth

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: January 14, 2021 1:25 pm

baby watch. gorilla expected at Woodland Park Zoo

Nadiri the western lowland gorilla in her enclosure at the Woodland Park Zoo

Photo Credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo

Keepers at the Woodland Park Zoo are anxiously anticipating the birth of a gorilla infant with mom, Nadiri set to give birth to her second infant between now and early February. This will be the first infant from the pairing of 24 year old Nadiri and dad Kwame, 21 years old.

The birth comes at the end of Nadiri’s eight to nine month gestation period.

Zoo volunteers have now begun a birth watch where they will remotely monitor the expectant mother through cameras installed in her bedroom. During this time they will be looking for telltale signs that might indicate the onset of labor. A gorilla keeper is always on call to attend when labor begins.

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Nadiri welcomed her first infant, Yola during 2015. This infant was father by Vip. Nadiri is partially human-raised and as such she had no parental experience. This meant she was unable to care for Yola. Yola spent the first few months of her life being care by keepers and veterinary staff but had daily interaction with mom. Eventually Nadiris maternal instinct kicked in and Yola could be reunited with mom.

“Now that Nadiri has more than five years of maternal experience, we’re confident she’ll know exactly what to do this time—but we’re preparing for every possible scenario, just in case,” said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo.

Kwame is an experienced father. He fathered a son, Kitoko with mate Uzumma last March. He has proven himself to be a gentle, playful and patient father to his son. “The new infant will be a half-sibling for both little Kitoko and Yola. “We fully expect the next months and years to be filled with lots of playful and mischievous antics for both the youngsters and adults!” added Ramirez.

Nadiri and Kwame have been paired by the Gorilla Species Survival Plan which is a cooperative effort between zoos to maintain a self-sustaining population of gorillas.