Nyah the Baby Gorilla

In September, we announced the birth of a baby gorilla to first time mom, Lily. Click here to see the original announcement.

by Jamie Kranz, gorilla keeper

Our baby gorilla now has an official name (and gender!) We have determined to the best of our ability that Lily's baby is a female. Her name is Nyah (pronounced N-eye-uh), meaning "purpose" in Swahili. The name is fitting, since her birth resulted from a breeding recommendation from the gorilla SSP.

Baby Nyah. Photos by keeper Kayla Krajna

Gender determination in gorillas can be very tricky, males look like females, females look like males. Lily was a very protective mother, which is great, but it was difficult for keepers to get a close look at the baby. For any primate, the bond between mother and baby is important, and unless there was a health concern, there was no reason to intervene just to check the gender. Although not knowing was frustrating, a healthy baby was all that really mattered.

Lily was trained to bring the baby up to the mesh in their holding area. She would allow keepers to syringe and bottle feed the baby through the mesh. Luckily it was not needed, but this training was important. If Lily was unable to nurse, the keepers could have allowed the baby to remain in her care, while keeping the baby healthy through bottle feeding.

Adorable Nyah!

Canisius College has the ability to figure out DNA (XX or XY chromosome = Female or Male) through a cheek swab sample. Since Lily was used to the keepers sticking objects in the baby's mouth, it was easy to get a simple cheek swab with a q-tip. We also took a sample from Koga since he will have the Y chromosome, indicating that he's a male. The preliminary results showed that Koga did have a Y chromosome (He's obviously a male, but this proved that the test worked) and the baby did not have a Y. Based on those results, and our own observations, we have determined that the baby is indeed a female.

Meet our latest addition!!

The Buffalo Zoo is celebrating the birth of a baby western lowland gorilla.

The baby was born on Wednesday, September 4 at 12:44 p.m. to first-time mother, 12-year-old Lily, and father, 26-year-old Koga. Lily has displayed strong maternal instincts and is taking great care of the troop’s latest addition. Keepers have not been able to get close enough to the baby to determine its gender, though they believe it is a girl. Both mother and baby are doing well.

Photos by Kelly Brown - Registrar, Buffalo Zoo

During Lily’s pregnancy, the keeper staff at the Buffalo Zoo was able to monitor the baby’s growth using ultrasound technology. Lily had been trained to present her abdomen to keepers and remain calm during the ultrasound process, so she did not need to be anesthetized in order to obtain images of the fetus. The team worked with Bridget Gilewski, RT, RDMS of Baby’s Bungalow in North Tonawanda, who volunteered to assist with the ultrasound readings. The Buffalo Zoo is one of the only zoos to have successfully measured the development of a western lowland gorilla in utero. Their research is important to the study and husbandry of gorillas.

The baby will join the gorilla troop, including her parents as well as females Sydney and Amari, in their exhibit daily. During this sensitive time, the gorillas will be given access to their interior holding areas, should they desire more privacy. Visitors are advised that the gorillas may not always be visible, but are encouraged to check back often!

The gestation period of gorillas is eight and a half months. Gorillas begin walking when they are between three and six months of age, and are weaned around three years of age.

Western lowland gorillas are found in the lowland tropical forests of central Africa. The species is critically endangered due to loss of habitat as well as the bush meat trade. 

Photos by Kelly Brown - Registrar, Buffalo Zoo