The Calgary Zoo celebrated the first birthday of gorilla Kimani Thursday.
The zoo’s youngest Western lowland gorilla was born to mother Kijori and father Kakinga on March 9, 2016.
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“This has been an incredible year of growth for Kimani as she was born underweight which required special care from our animal care and veterinary teams,” Calgary Zoo curator Dr. Malu Celli said in a Wednesday news release.
“While still tiny, [Kimani] is thriving and doing exceptionally well with a caring mother and an attentive troop of female gorillas to watch over her.”
The troop received food in gift boxes, bubbles, tissue paper and other enrichment items.
Calgary zookeeper Jennifer Long said the celebration was about more than just the newest gorilla’s birthday. “We’ve had a rough, challenging year with other things going on in the troop. We had our silverback (Kakinga) pass away a couple months after Kimani was born, and that was a huge stressor on Kijori.” Long said another female in the troop Zuri had major surgery in April 2016, which added more stress to the troop.
Visitors to the gorilla enclosure Thursday were asked to bring used cellphones to recycle in lieu of gifts or cards. Cellphones are made of coltan, a mineral found in the Congo where gorillas live. According to the zoo, by recycling these devices, the need to mine for coltan diminishes, helping to protect the endangered species.
With files from Jodi Hughes
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