Belfast Zoo Gorilla Family Host Gender Reveal Party

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: January 28, 2022 7:50 pm

Gugas the father of the gorilla infant at Belfast Zoo reveals its gender by opening a box containing colored confetti

Photo Credit: Belfast Zoo

The western lowland gorilla troop at Belfast Zoo have hosted a gender reveal party. Father Gugas opened a large box placed in his enclosure by keepers. Inside he found strips of blue paper which revealed that his son was a male.

Father Gugas and mother Kamili welcomed their son on October 8th 2022. Keepers have had a long wait to determine the gender of the infant as Kamili held him tight to her chest for the first few months of life.

Now keepers at the zoo are eager to name the infant. They have assembled a shortlist of eight names and will put them to a vote on Facebook.

The names voters can choose between are:

Raza – of African origin meaning “hope”

Mfalme – Swahili name meaning “king”

Babatunde – means “father has returned” in the Yoruba language

Topaz – a beautiful gemstone, chosen simply because the keeper likes it!

Bahati – Swahili name meaning “noble”

Kofi – Ghanaian in origin meaning “born on a Friday”

Johari – Swahili name meaning “jewel”

Kenneth (Kenny) – after Belfast born actor and film maker, Kenneth Branagh

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Belfast Zoo Curator, Julie Mansell, commented ‘The newest additional to our gorilla family is growing really well. He’s very healthy and strong and is getting the best care from Kamili, who is a fantastic, experienced mother.”

“Now that he is four months old, he is increasingly alert and is showing more interest in food and playing with the rest of the family troop. Over the next couple of months, he will be learning to eat, walk and climb, which is a joy to watch,” finished Mansell.

The gorilla is increasingly threatened through hunting. They are critically endangered in the wild with less than 100,000 remaining in the wild.

Belfast Zoo contribute to the international breeding program for the species.

Learn more about Gorillas here – Gorilla Fact File | The Animal Facts

Learn more about the Belfast Zoo on their website – Belfast Zoo