CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN ZOO

New! -  Umande Notecards
BUY NOW!

HOW IS UMANDE DOING?

Umande, the baby gorilla that was born in February 2006 at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, now has a mom!

His trip to Columbus went well, two of his keepers flew there with him on a private plane. By the end of the first day he was already getting used to his new caregivers.  For the first few days he could only look at the other gorillas and they at him; no touching was allowed for quarantine purposes.

When it was time for him to meet and touch other gorillas through the mesh, things went very well!  Columbus staff had 3 different females in mind for possible surrogates, and Umande got a chance to meet all of them.  While all 3 females seemed to like him, one named Lulu showed particular interest.  She has been a surrogate before and has also had babies of her own.   Umande seemed to favor her as well.  It became obvious that these two wanted to be together.

On October 30, Umande and Lulu were introduced in the same enclosure and everything went great. They played with bags & boxes and laughed together! Lulu scooped him up and showed him to a caregiver - she was proud of her new baby. After a few days together, they really bonded and became pretty much inseparable.  He either rides on her back, or she scoops him up & carries him everywhere.  Umande laughs at everything Lulu does.  Even though she is in her 40’s, Lulu is acting 20 years younger now that she has Umande.

The silverback has accepted several babies into his group, and he likes Umande too. The two of them grumble to each other (a positive vocalization for gorillas).  2 ½ year old Dottie and Umande play and chase each other through the mesh.  Soon Umande and Lulu will be introduced to the rest of the troop, one or two members at a time, and Umande will have an entire gorilla family!

NAME: Umande (oo-MAHN-day), meaning “mist, or fog”
BORN: Saturday February 18, 2006
TIME: 7:36 p.m.
GENDER: Male
BIRTH WEIGHT: 5.25 lbs.

Basics of Gorilla Hand-Rearing
 
 
 

CMZoo Homepage

4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Road Colorado Springs, CO  80906 Phone(719)633-9925  Fax (719)633-2254