COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — While mothers across the country were celebrated on Sunday, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo got in on the fun, celebrating one of its very own expecting mother, Asha.
Asha, a 32-year-old Western Lowland Gorilla, is pregnant, drawing up huge excitement for the zoo as this will be the first time in 13 years a gorilla was born at the zoo.
“It has been nearly 13 years since a gorilla was born here, so many visitors will get to experience this for the first time, along with our silverback, Goma, who will become a first-time dad with this little one,” said Jon Wild, lead animal keeper in Primate World. “It’s not Asha’s first time, and she has been a great mom in the past.”
Asha is a mother to two other gorillas, Dembe, a 12-year-old male with the North Carolina Zoo, and 18-year-old female, Tumani, who is with the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.
Goma is a 34-year-old who came to the zoo in 2016 following a breeding recommendation from the Western Lowland Gorilla Species Survival Plan, supported by Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited organizations.
Goma, when he arrived, had no experience leading a troop, which is a group of gorillas. The zoo says he learned a lot from Asha since arriving, and more specifically on how to lead a female troop.
The gorilla gestation period is around eight and a half months, and the zoo is expecting the baby around mid-May or the end of July.
Should all go well and the baby and Asha do well in the first few weeks, the zoo will share updates on when the public can get eyes on the newest addition to the Primate World.
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