A gorilla thought to be a male was actually a female at an Ohio zoo, but it turned out that she gave birth to a baby. / Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
2023.07.24 Mon posted at 15:30 JST
(CNN) At the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, zookeepers were astonished by an unexpected sight on their way to work. The gorilla, which I thought was male, was actually a female, holding a newborn baby.
According to the zoo’s announcement, the eight-year-old western lowland gorilla “Sally” gave birth. She has been living with her mother at the zoo since 2019 and was thought to be a male until she was spotted holding her baby this morning.
According to the zoo, gorillas have less conspicuous genitalia, and males and females look almost alike until they are around eight years old. It is said that it is only after maturity that the male grows larger, turns silvery white on its back, and develops a characteristic hump on its head.
In addition, the zoo’s gorilla breeding adopted a policy of entrusting child rearing to the mother gorilla.
Sally was “young and healthy” when she arrived at the zoo, so she didn’t need veterinary attention and was never found pregnant.
In addition to the fact that gorilla pregnancies “rarely show any obvious signs”, “newborn gorillas are smaller than human babies and gorillas naturally have large bellies”, which contributed to overlooking Sally’s pregnancy.
A gorilla’s gestation period is eight and a half months. Sally’s pregnancy is presumed to have been last fall.
The baby was born healthy and appears to be female. The zoo will wait for the parent-child bond to form and will conduct a health checkup soon. A DNA test is also planned to identify the father’s gorilla.
The western lowland gorilla, which inhabits central Africa, is listed as an endangered species, with an estimated 100,000 individuals left in the wild.
The Columbus Zoo is known for being the first zoo in the world to have a baby gorilla in 1956. Sally’s baby was the 34th gorilla born at the zoo.
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2023-07-24 06:30:00
