Baby Gorilla Leaves Texas for New Home in Cincinnati

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Baby Gorilla Leaves Texas for New Home in Cincinnati

February 24, 2013

Posted in Cincinnati Zoo, Gladys Porter Zoo, Gorilla

A four-week-old female Gorilla born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in
Brownsville, Texas, made a cross-country trip on a private plane to her new
home at the Cincinnati Zoo last week.

Cincinnati
Zoo Primate Team Leader Ron Evans and Nursery Head Keeper Dawn Strasser
accompanied the baby on the private flight. “The baby was great,” said
Strasser. “She never left my arms.”

Photo Credits: Gladys Porter Zoo & Cinncinati Zoo

The baby, who is still unnamed, was
born on January 29 to 14-year old female Kiazi and 28-year-old silverback male Moja. Because Kiazi was not providing
appropriate maternal care, the baby was being hand-reared by keepers at the
Gladys Porter Zoo. All parties agreed that relocation was the best course of
action for the baby and because the Cincinnati Zoo has two female Gorillas
available to serve as potential surrogate mothers, it was decided that the baby
should go there. Her introduction process to a new Gorilla troop will be
gradual to ensure a favorable integration.

The
baby will spend time behind the scenes for the next few days as she is
evaluated by zoo veterinarians. She will then move to her more permanent home
at the Cincinnati Zoo.

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2 responses to “Baby Gorilla Leaves Texas for New Home in Cincinnati”

Carissa

February 26, 2013

I hope you’ll do a follow up story on this baby gorilla and the surrogate mother that gets to raise her 🙂

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Dorie

March 2, 2013

From WCPO.com: The baby gorilla was named Gladys Stones as a way to pay homage to the animals former home, the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas. She was also given the name “Stones” after the Stones family who cared for her before her arrival in the Tri-State, zoo officials say.
“Jerry and Cindy Stones, of the Gladys Porter Zoo, deserve all the recognition in the world for how quickly they swooped in and rescued Gladys,” said Ron Evans, Primate Center Team Leader at the Cincinnati Zoo in a release. “Without their around the clock care and attention, I’m not sure she would still be here today. It was hard for them to see her go, and took a lot of love for them to say goodbye, and we wanted to acknowledge that.”

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