When you have a cute little thing, the first thing you’re going to want to do is show off to everyone around you. We do this with our new toys, our fancy new kitchen gadgets, and even our pets. For the moms out there, it’s natural to want to show off your baby, too!
Apparently, that’s a universal truth. Mamas of every species love when everyone sees how cute their babies are!
Recently, one gorilla couple became parents to one of the cutest baby gorillas of all time. They welcomed him to the troop with open arms, of course, but that wasn’t all. They live in a zoo, so of course, they had to show him off to all of the zoo-goers, too.
Luckily, everyone wanted to see her. He was so sweet that she basically got a standing ovation:
@vallgenThis made my year!! This sweet little baby 🥹 #coloradosprings #babygorilla #cheyennemountainzoo
Apparently this was Valerie Gendron’s third trip to the zoo since the birth: she really wanted to see that baby! On her third trip, she finally got to see him: his mama had decided to parade him around that day. Everyone is totally smitten with him!
This happy little Western Lowland Gorilla family lives at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was born in July of this year, and he’s spent every second of that time with his mama whenever possible! Mom is 33-year-old Asha, and dad is named Goma.
The baby’s name is Sully, which was chosen by the public! The zoo opened up a poll: if you donated, you got to vote on what his name would be. There were three choices, and whichever made the most money would be the winner! They were:
- Abu
- Ryder
- Sully
“Sully” won out big time, raising $7,300 by the time the poll was done. It fits him so well, too: he’s going to grow up to be big and a little fluffy! Plus, now he’ll have a built-in Halloween costume for life!
Western Lowland Gorillas are endangered
Sully and his parents may be safe and sound at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, but as a species, Western Lowland Gorillas are in tough shape. Listed as critically endangered, these gentle giants are losing more of their population everyday due to:
- Habitat loss
- Poaching
- Lack of access to natural resources
Programs like the one at the CM Zoo are vital to keeping the species alive. Before Sully, there hadn’t been a baby Western Lowland Gorilla in almost 13 years! Hopefully, he gets a sibling someday… Maybe they’ll name them after me this time!
