(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A new baby Western Lowland Gorilla was welcomed to the world at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo) on Monday, July 21–the first of its kind born at the zoo in nearly 13 years.
Asha, a 32-year-old critically endangered Western lowland gorilla, gave birth to her baby early in the morning on Monday, marking the first gorilla born at the zoo in nearly 13 years. Asha, a third-time mom, was also born at CMZoo on Oct. 5, 1992. She has welcomed two previous babies to the world during her time at CMZoo, both of whom now live in troops at other zoos.
The zoo said the new baby is doing well and nursing, and seems to be bonding well with mom.
“Asha is sitting and lying down with the baby and gently patting its back, which is really adorable,” said Ashton Asbury, Primate World animal keeper. “The baby hangs onto Asha while she’s moving around and she supports it with one hand. They’re bonding really well, and we have seen her licking the baby’s head and grooming it.”
While the little one is Asha’s third baby, it made a first-time dad of 34-year-old silverback Goma.
“He seems to want to stick close to her and the baby,” Asbury said. “I heard him making happy gorilla grumbles at them, and Asha is doing a good job of showing him the baby while keeping a comfortable distance.”
Goma moved to the zoo in 2016 on a breeding recommendation from the Western Lowland Gorilla Species Survival Plan, supported by Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited organizations, including CMZoo.
Primate World is open to the public and will continue to be as long as Asha and the troop continue to do well. The sex and weight of the gorilla baby are not known yet. As long as keepers observe that baby and mom are doing well, CMZoo said they will continue to let Asha take the lead on providing care.
The baby will likely cling to Asha for the first several weeks, but will start getting to know its dad, as well as ‘aunt’ Kwisha (who is unrelated genetically, but grew up with Asha and had a relationship with both of her offspring), as long as Asha is comfortable. Following CMZoo tradition, the baby will be named after he or she is at least 30 days old.
Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered in the wild, and their numbers continue to decline, the zoo said.
In addition to disease and poaching, gorillas face habitat loss due to logging for agricultural use, human settlements and mining. Many of the West African lowland forests and swamps that these animals call home are also natural deposits of coltan, a mineral used in cell phones and other electronics. Due to the ever-increasing demand for cell phones across the world, the destruction of these gorillas’ habitats for mining purposes has unfortunately increased.
CMZoo said Gorilla fans can help preserve wild gorilla habitats by recycling small electronic devices and cell phones at CMZoo.
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