Philadelphia Zoo Debuts New Baby Gorilla

Photo courtesy Philadelphia Zoo

Aww! The Philadelphia Zoo today unveiled its new baby gorilla to the public. If you can believe it, this baby animal is pretty cute.

The new gorilla was born on August 26th to Honi, the zoo’s 21-year-old female, and 31-year old Motuba. It will be given a name with the help of zoo visitors and followers of the Philadelphia Zoo on social media. May I suggest Harambe II? Harambe was killed on May 28th. There is no evidence to the contrary that this gorilla is not the reincarnation of Harambe, the popular meme and Wildwood boardwalk t-shirt. I dunno, just a thought.

The zoo reports the baby gorilla and its mother are doing well. “We are very excited to welcome Honi’s new baby,” Zoo COO Dr. Andy Baker said in a release. “The Zoo works with the Species Survival Plan breeding program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, whose goal is to manage populations of threatened, endangered and other species across AZA zoos, to maintain long-term genetic and demographic viability. This birth is an opportunity to engage our visitors in caring about the future of gorillas in the wild.”

The baby gorilla currently lives in the PECO Primate Reserve with its parents and Kira, a female gorilla. Viewing times vary; the zoo says “the baby is constantly with mom who decides where she prefers to be each day.” Like humans, gorilla newborns are helpless and must be constantly cared for by their mothers.

“Given Honi’s experience, we’re not surprised she’s been a great mother so far, but we’re very pleased that both she and the baby appear healthy,” Baker said. “The baby will be among the first generation of animals to grow up and explore through Zoo360, a first-in-the-world animal travel and exploration system.”

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