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Seems like there is good news for endangered gorilla populations, at least those bred in captivity.
Mumba the gorilla is now a new mummy after giving birth recently at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Folkestone, Kent, England. She wasn’t the only gorilla to celebrate either, as a couple of weeks earlier, another baby gorilla was born atHowletts near Canterbury.
The births were greeted with joy as the animals are an endangered species. There are only about 100,000 Western lowland gorillas left in existence in the wild. If their population keeps declining at the present rate, they may become extinct around the year 2020.
They are becoming rare in their natural habitat in central Africa, because of deforestation and the Ebola virus. As with most endangered species they also have to watch out for us humans as they are often eaten in their homeland where other meat is scarce.
It’s not known if the Mumba’s baby is a boy or a girl yet as it’s not safe enough to enter the 22-year-old gorilla’s cage until the baby is a little older. (Mother gorillas are very protective!)
Whatever sex the baby gorilla is, he or she has two brothers; 13-year-old Djumbah and 10-year-old JaJa. The gorillas’ dad is 27-year old Djala, who was rescued from the Congo and has already sired 26 babies so far.
Over at nearby Howletts, 13-year-old Boma gave birth on April 8th to a male who was named Nkoumou. The youngster has two half siblings, Kisane and Masindi, who are both three years old. Their dad is Djanghou, who was born at Howletts just over 15 years ago.
Both wildlife parks are supported by the Aspinall Foundation, whose breeding scheme is part of a rescue and rehabilitation mission for captive-born gorillas in the Congo and Gabon.
Between them, the two parks now house a total of 77 gorillas.
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