The first Western Lowland Gorilla born at the Belfast Zoo in
16 years is being called a “little miracle” because his father was thought to
be infertile.
The male baby was born to mother Kwanza and father Gugas on
August 3. Through an online voting
contest, fans named the baby “Baako,” which means “first-born child.” He is
thriving in the zoo’s Gorilla habitat.
Photo Credit: Belfast Zoo
Because Gugas was born in the wild, he is genetically important
to the European Gorilla breeding program. Zoo Curator
Julie Mansell explains, “Because Gugas is so important, last year we decided to
test his fertility. The results were less than promising and it was suspected
that Gugas would never father any infants. You can therefore imagine the entire
team’s delight when we discovered that Kwanza was pregnant with her little
miracle!”
Gugas had an unfortunate start to life when his parents were
killed, most likely victims of poaching for bushmeat. After being acquired and later abandoned by a
circus, Gugas finally arrived at Belfast Zoo in 1998 where he joined a social
group.
Western Lowland Gorillas are listed as Critically Endangered
by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They
inhabit forests and swamps in western central Africa. Though they are the most numerous subspecies
of Gorilla, Western Lowland Gorillas are threatened by poaching and habitat
loss, as well as a significant threat from the Ebola virus, which is an
extremely virulent pathogen affecting humans and nonhuman primates such as
Gorillas.
See more photos of Baako below the fold.
Related articles
Leave a Reply