A New York City zoo is celebrating the arrivals of two baby western lowland gorillas.
They’re the first gorillas born at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo since 2006. And the newest additions make the zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest the largest group of gorillas in North America, with 20 primates.
The gender of the newborns is unknown for now, WCS said. One was born to Julia, 33, and the other to Tuti, 19. Ernie, 31, sired them both. He is a first-time dad, WCS said.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature designates western lowland gorillas as “critically endangered.” Their primary habit is in the forests of equatorial Africa.
The Bronx Zoo participates in a cooperative breeding program with other zoos called the Species Survival Plan to make sure that captive animal populations are genetically viable.
The WCS said that seeing the babies will “vary day-by-day depending on weather, temperature, and other environmental factors.”
The Wildlife Conservation Society’s mission is to protect wildlife and wild places around the world through science, conservation, and education programs and its network of zoos and aquarium in New York City.
Agencies/Canadajournal
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