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28th Jan 2022

Belfast Zoo has welcomed baby endangered gorilla

Ellen Fitzpatrick

Too cute to handle.

Belfast Zoo has just announced the new arrival of a baby western lowland gorilla, and he’s pretty adorable.

The baby is now four months old, but the zoo was reluctant to announce the news as it took them a while to determine his gender as his mum Kamili held in tightly for the first few months of his life.

While she is still keeping him close, the baby gorilla is nearly at the stage of crawling and exploring.

Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered in the wild, with it estimated that there are less than 100,000 left in the wild.

The zoo has now reached out for the public’s help choosing a name for the baby, with a shortlist of eight names being created by the zookeeping team.

 

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Among the names, there are traditional African names like Raza, which means hope, and Bahati, meaning noble. Along with these, Kenneth has made the bill after Belfast born actor and director Kenneth Branagh.

“The newest additional to our gorilla family is growing really well. He’s very healthy and strong and is getting the best care from Kamili, who is a fantastic, experienced mother,” said Belfast Zoo Curator Julie Mansell.

“Now that he is four months old, he is increasingly alert and is showing more interest in food and playing with the rest of the family troop. Over the next couple of months, he will be learning to eat, walk and climb, which is a joy to watch.”

Belfast Zoo is part of an international breeding and conservation programme for this species of monkey.