CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN ZOO

Asha's New
Western Lowland Gorilla Baby!

Western Lowland gorilla baby born February 1, 2007!

NAME: Tumani
MOTHER: Asha
BORN: Wednesday, January 31, 2007
TIME: 3:57 a.m.
GENDER: 99% sure it is a girl!
VISITATION:
Visit the new baby at
Primate World 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN ZOO’S GORILLA GIVES BIRTH
Update February 7, 2007 - Asha and father Rafiki are letting staff get closer and closer. To assist the troop in adjusting to the Asha nursing her new baby 2-6-07new arrival, the keepers have returned to their normal routine of daily feedings and training. Rafiki is still staying close to Asha and her baby but he does not get as excited when keepers approach the exhibit. Unfortunately, we are still a few weeks away from the reopening of the Primate World building although we are working on getting Asha, the baby, Rafiki and the rest of the gorillas ready for the reopening. More to come!

Update February 2, 2007 - Asha and her new baby continue to be together, with our primate keepers feeling confident that Asha is nursing the baby. We know by observation that Asha is also grooming the little one. Everyone is still keeping their distance, both to let Asha and Baby bond and also because father Rafiki is still making quite a fuss being protective of Asha and the baby. Keeper and Vet staff have not made a determination as to the gender of the baby yet.

Upclose of Asha's newborn baby at one week old - Feb. 6, 2007General Curator Tracy Leeds has stated that it could be a few weeks before we can re-open the Primate World building to the public. We don’t want to upset or jeopardize the situation in any way. We will update you on the situation as events warrant.


January 31, 2007 - Asha, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s 13-year-old western lowland gorilla, gave birth on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 at 3:57 a.m. in the gorilla exhibit of the Zoo’s Primate World building. There were no complications during the labor and birth and first - time mother Asha immediately picked up her newborn gorilla. Primate Supervisor Dina Bredahl says that they are quite confident that they have observed the newborn nursing on Asha.
To this point most of the observations of mother and baby have been made via television cameras and monitors, as the keeper staff does not want to disturb the mother, father Rafiki, or the other members of the gorilla troop. Rafiki has exhibited Asha holding her baby with father Rafiki behind them 2-6-07protective behavior to both the primate keepers and to the other gorillas in the troop. Because of this behavior Zoo staff has not attempted to make close visual inspection of the baby yet. As time progresses the staff will attempt to approach Asha and the baby to insure everything is going well and to attempt to determine the gender of the newborn. This determination might not be accomplished for some weeks, depending on how protective Asha is with the little one.
“Asha and the baby are doing great. We are so excited that Asha is displaying such wonderful maternal behavior. She hasn’t put the baby down since giving birth early this morning. We are continuing to monitor the situation, but our feelings that Asha would be a good mom are becoming fact. So far things couldn’t be going better,” stated Supervisor Bredahl.

Zoo visitors will not be able to immediately view the new arrival as the Primate World building will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time while the gorillas and keeper staff adjust to the new arrival. The Zoo will announce within the next few days when the building will reopen, but that opening might not come for a week or more. Interested parties should continue to check the Zoo website for an announcement of the buildings’ reopening.

Today’s gorilla birth comes nearly one year after the birth of Umande, the male gorilla born on February 18, 2006 at the Zoo. Umande was hand-reared by Zoo staff and volunteers after his mother, Kwisha, did not care for him after birth. Umande was sent to the Columbus Zoo in October of 2006 to be united with his surrogate mother, Lulu, who now cares for him in Columbus.

Stay tuned for more details...

CMZoo Homepage
   4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Road
Colorado Springs, CO  80906
Phone(719)633-9925  Fax (719)633-2254
 
Updated March 2007. 
Report problems with this site to: webmaster@cmzoo.org
Browser requirements, Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
© Copyright 1995-2007 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. All rights reserved.