The Cincinnati Zoo has welcomed its newest member!Gladys, the zoo’s 12-year-old gorilla, gave birth to a healthy baby boy Saturday morning.The zoo says the baby was born at 8:32 a.m. and that both mom and baby are doing well.Both Gladys and the baby’s father — Mbeli, a 23-year-old silverback gorilla — are first-time parents.According to the zoo, a 24/7 baby birth watch began four weeks prior to the birth, conducted by the Zoo Volunteer Observers, via remote camera.”The ZVOs reported signs of labor throughout the early hours on Saturday morning, and she was in active labor when I arrived at 5:30 a.m,” said Cincinnati Zoo’s head gorilla keeper, Ashley Ashcraft, in a news release. “A few hours later, keepers had the honor of quietly observing her birth! She has been very attentive to the baby and is doing all the right things. We are so proud of her.”The baby is the 51st gorilla to be born at the Cincinnati Zoo.Gladys and the new arrival are bonding behind the scenes. The keeper team is discussing names and looking for suggestions, which can be submitted on the zoo’s social media channels.The zoo did not say when the baby will be ready to be seen by the public.In 2024, Gladys broke her arm during a fight with her siblings. Thanks to the help of the world’s first 3D-printed titanium cast and months of physical therapy, Gladys returned to her normal self.According to the zoo, there are about 765 gorillas in zoos worldwide, including around 360 that are managed by the Gorilla Species Survival Plan. Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered in the wild, with fewer than 175,000 individuals.
The Cincinnati Zoo has welcomed its newest member!
Advertisement
Gladys, the zoo’s 12-year-old gorilla, gave birth to a healthy baby boy Saturday morning.
The zoo says the baby was born at 8:32 a.m. and that both mom and baby are doing well.
This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Both Gladys and the baby’s father — Mbeli, a 23-year-old silverback gorilla — are first-time parents.
According to the zoo, a 24/7 baby birth watch began four weeks prior to the birth, conducted by the Zoo Volunteer Observers, via remote camera.
“The ZVOs reported signs of labor throughout the early hours on Saturday morning, and she was in active labor when I arrived at 5:30 a.m,” said Cincinnati Zoo’s head gorilla keeper, Ashley Ashcraft, in a news release. “A few hours later, keepers had the honor of quietly observing her birth! She has been very attentive to the baby and is doing all the right things. We are so proud of her.”
The baby is the 51st gorilla to be born at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Gladys and the new arrival are bonding behind the scenes. The keeper team is discussing names and looking for suggestions, which can be submitted on the zoo’s social media channels.
The zoo did not say when the baby will be ready to be seen by the public.
In 2024, Gladys broke her arm during a fight with her siblings. Thanks to the help of the world’s first 3D-printed titanium cast and months of physical therapy, Gladys returned to her normal self.
According to the zoo, there are about 765 gorillas in zoos worldwide, including around 360 that are managed by the Gorilla Species Survival Plan. Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered in the wild, with fewer than 175,000 individuals.
