SEATTLE — A gorilla born at Woodland Park Zoo in June will need to be relocated to another zoo, according to staff.
The first-time mother, Akenji, rejected the infant gorilla, who has not yet been named. The gorilla was born on June 28 and has been cared for by humans 24/7.
This is not ideal for the animal's development, according to zoo staff, because it does not provide them with the same confidence or sense of security to thrive in the gorillas' complex social groups.
Zoo staff had exhausted other options before they decided to work to relocate the animal.
Staff initially tried to provide Akenji with maternal behavioral training, but after the baby was born, the mother "clearly let [staff] know she is not interested in the baby."
They then tried to focus on training three adult female gorillas at Woodland Park to be surrogate mothers so the baby could grow up in a normal social environment, but "progress has not advanced fast enough."
Now, staff has turned to the Gorilla Species Survival Plan, which keeps a list of potential surrogate mothers at accredited zoos and aquariums nationwide.
“We have been following proven, advanced practices to make sure the baby gorilla has been exposed round the clock to visual, auditory, and olfactory stimuli of other gorillas, however, protracting this current hand-rearing situation is not feasible,” said Martin Ramirez, the interim senior director of animal care at Woodland Park Zoo. “The longer he’s cared for solely by humans, the more he is hindered from learning the complex social cues of gorillas and the higher the risk of becoming imprinted on humans.”
It is currently unknown where the otherwise healthy baby gorilla will end up.
The baby’s father, Kwame, has two other offspring at the zoo – Kitoko, a male gorilla born in March 2020, and Zuna, a female gorilla born in January 2021.