SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 12, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Pele, one of Hogle Zoo’s lowland gorillas, is pregnant.
“At about six months along, both mom and baby are doing well,” the Zoo said in a Friday morning statement.
In 2022, 22-year-old Pele (pronounced pey-lay) and her mother, Mary (37), came to Utah from Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP).
The Gorilla SSP paired Pele with current Hogle Zoo resident Husani, a 32-year-old silverback, as part of an accredited zoo program to provide a healthy, genetically diverse, and self-sustaining population. Guests often see Husani playing with three-year-old Georgia, his first baby with Jabali (19).
Hogle Zoo’s animal care and animal health teams will closely monitor Pele as she progresses through her 8.5 month pregnancy.
“Resident animals participate in voluntary animal training as part of Hogle Zoo’s animal wellbeing program,” says a statement issued by Clair Hallyburton, Hogle Zoo’s associate director of animal care.
“In addition to building relationships with her care team, this training enables Pele to participate actively in her healthcare, training her for necessary health checks and veterinary procedures. These training opportunities strengthen Pele’s maternal behaviors and build trust with the animal care team, helping us to prepare for all outcomes.
“The first major milestone our veterinary and animal care teams look for is seeing the baby through an ultrasound, which we can now monitor regularly.”
Pele is expected to deliver her baby in June or July. See a short video of the expectant mama here.
Threatened by illegal poaching, habitat loss, and mining, western lowland gorillas are critically endangered. Found in Angola, Gabon, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and Equatorial Guinea, western lowland gorillas are the smallest of the four subspecies.
