New Orleans Zoo Welcomes Birth Of Baby Gorilla For First Time In 24 Years

By Sarah Tate

September 8, 2020

A gorilla was born last week at New Orleans' Audubon Zoo for the first time in 24 years.

The zoo announced online Tuesday that their gorilla Tumani gave birth to a baby western lowland gorilla on September 4. Western lowland gorillas are currently on the list of endangered species. The new infant is a result of the successful breeding of 13-year-old western lowland gorilla Tumani and Okpara, a 26-year-old silverback gorilla.

"Mother and infant are doing well," the post read. "Animal care staff are closely monitoring the infant's health to ensure that Tumani and baby are receiving the care needed."

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We've got wonderful news - Tumani and Okpara's infant has been born at Audubon Zoo! ❤️ This critically endangered western lowland gorilla was born in the morning hours of September 4, 2020. Mother and infant are doing well! Animal care staff are closely monitoring the infant’s health to ensure that Tumani and baby are receiving the care needed. The World of Primates section of Audubon Zoo will be closed while Tumani, infant, and the troop bond. We anticipate reopening World of Primates as soon as animal care staff feel that mother and infant have properly bonded. All gorillas will have access to their outdoor habitat, so you may catch a glimpse of the new addition during your Zoo visit once World of Primates has reopened. You can spot the infant by a small white patch of hair on its rump. The patch will fade away when the gorilla reaches three to four years of age. This white patch helps mother gorillas keep track of infants and assists other group members in identifying the gorilla as an infant. #SavingSpecies

A post shared by Audubon Nature Institute (@auduboninstitute) on Sep 8, 2020 at 6:12am PDT

According to NOLA.com, the zoo has been documenting Tumani's pregnancy on social media, sharing sonograms and videos of staff teaching the gorilla new things. They even created an online baby registry for anyone wanting to donate items to the zoo for its new infant. NOLA also reports that animal care staff have not been able to get close enough to determine the new gorilla's gender, and it doesn't have a name yet.

The World of Primates exhibit will be closed for a period of time and will reopen when staff believes the gorillas have properly bonded.

The zoo shared a video in its post of Tumani and her newborn bonding, which can be seen here.

Photo: Getty Images, Audubon Zoo