“His relationship with the animal care team is critical to success,” Wilson added. “We work hard to make the environment nurturing and comfortable. We’re basically the nursing and training team we know as new parents.”
Tumani’s pregnancy was the product of her breeding success with another silverback gorilla called Okpara, CNN reported. Okpara is 26 years old and transferred to Audubon Zoo in 2017 from Franklin Park Zoo.
Okpara, Tumani, her expected baby, and other gorillas at the zoo are part of a survival plan put in place by the Zoo and Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan. In an explanation from the zoo, it is clear that a survival plan has been put in place to ensure the safety of 354 gorillas from 48 zoos in North America.
“The western lowland gorilla population has declined by more than 80%, primarily due to illegal hunting, disease, and habitat loss, such as commercial logging. There are approximately 340,000 gorillas left western plains,” Wilson told CNN. The zoo has taken extra steps to help Toumani during her pregnancy, including regular ultrasounds and daily monitoring of the fetal heart rate. She is due to give birth later this summer.
In an update in late August, the Audubon Zoo announced that it had created a baby bath registry for endangered gorillas.
“Audubon spends more than $70,000 a month feeding the more than 15,000 animals in our care,” Steve Marshall, the zoo’s vice president, said in an August 12 press release. “Caring for our animals is a top priority for Audubon.”
Your support will provide nutritious diets and excellent veterinary care to our animals like Tumani to ensure they are as healthy and happy as possible.
