The western lowland gorilla is one of the most critically endangered animals on the planet. Their population has plummeted by more than 60 percent in the last 25 years, due to habitat loss, hunting, and disease.
But there is a glimmer of hope in the dark: London Zoo, one of the oldest and most prestigious zoos in the world, has successfully bred two baby gorillas in the span of a month.
These births are not only a joyous occasion for the zoo staff and visitors, but also a vital contribution to the conservation of this magnificent species.
The Miracle of Life in Gorilla Kingdom
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On February 8, 2024, Effie, a 25-year-old female western lowland gorilla, gave birth to a healthy infant in the gym area of Gorilla Kingdom, the zoo's state-of-the-art enclosure for the gorillas.
The sex of the baby is still unknown, as the mother is keeping it close to her chest. This is Effie's fifth offspring, and the second one sired by Kumbuka, the dominant male of the group.
Effie's delivery came as a pleasant surprise for the zookeepers, who were still celebrating the arrival of another baby gorilla on January 15.
That one was born to Alika, a 16-year-old female, who is also Kumbuka's mate. Alika's baby is a girl, and she has been named Ami, which means "friend" in Lingala, a language spoken in the gorillas' native range in west and central Africa.
The two infants are the first western lowland gorillas born at London Zoo since 2018, when Alika gave birth to her first daughter, Asili.
They are also the first ones to be born under the zoo's participation in the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), a coordinated breeding and conservation effort for the gorillas across zoos in Europe.
The zoo's chief operating officer, Kathryn England, expressed her delight and gratitude for the births, saying that they were a testament to the hard work and dedication of the zoo staff, who had been caring for and protecting the gorillas for decades.
She also said that the zoo was thrilled to welcome the new additions to the gorilla family, and hoped that they would inspire the visitors to learn more about the plight of their wild cousins and support the efforts to save them.
Western lowland gorillas are the largest and most numerous of the four gorilla subspecies, but they are also the most threatened.
They inhabit the dense and remote rainforests of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Angola.
They are highly social and intelligent animals, living in groups of up to 20 individuals, led by a dominant silverback male. They are herbivorous, feeding mainly on fruits, leaves, stems, and bark.
However, their existence is under constant peril from human activities. Deforestation, driven by logging, mining, agriculture, and infrastructure development, has destroyed and fragmented their habitat, reducing their food sources and exposing them to human contact and conflict.
Poaching, fueled by the demand for bushmeat and trophies, has decimated their numbers and disrupted their social structure. Disease, especially the Ebola virus, has also taken a heavy toll on their health and mortality.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the western lowland gorilla population has declined by more than 60 percent since 1996, and is projected to decline by another 80 percent by 2046, if current trends continue.
The IUCN classifies the western lowland gorilla as critically endangered, the highest level of threat before extinction.
To prevent this tragic outcome, various conservation initiatives have been launched to protect the western lowland gorillas and their habitat.
These include anti-poaching patrols, law enforcement, community education and engagement, habitat restoration and management, disease monitoring and prevention, and captive breeding and reintroduction programs.
One of the most prominent and successful examples of these efforts is the EEP, which London Zoo joined in 2019. The EEP is a collaborative network of more than 100 zoos across Europe, which aims to maintain a healthy and genetically diverse population of western lowland gorillas in captivity, as well as to support their conservation in the wild.
The EEP coordinates the breeding and transfer of gorillas among the participating zoos, based on their genetic and behavioral compatibility, to ensure the long-term viability and welfare of the captive population.
The EEP also contributes to the research and funding of field projects that work to protect the gorillas and their habitat in Africa.
The coordinator of the EEP, Dr. Zjef Pereboom, explained the importance of the program for the conservation of the gorillas, saying that it allowed them to maintain a genetically healthy and representative population of gorillas in human care, which could serve as a safety net for the wild population in case of a catastrophic event.
He also said that the program enabled them to raise awareness and funds for the conservation of the gorillas in their natural habitat, where they belonged and where they were most needed.
