The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is committed to sharing inspirational stories about our animals and connecting our friends and followers to wildlife every day. We celebrated this in 2014 by naming our newest baby gorilla “Mondika” after a fantastic place in the Republic of Congo doing gorilla-related conservation. The effort in Mondika is part of a larger program called the Nouabale-Ndoki Project (NNP) with which the Cincinnati Zoo has partnered for many years. Please check this blog for regular reports on our little ambassador Mondika, aka “Mona”, along with interesting updates on the great work being done in Congo to save the critically-endangered western lowland gorilla.
In August 2014, the Zoo enjoyed the birth of our 49th gorilla, Mona. This birth was significant in many ways. It was a genetically valuable match of father “Jomo” and mother “Asha”. Zoos do not take gorillas from the wild and haven’t done so in many decades. Zoos work hard to protect wild gorillas while raising awareness at home. So zoos must be careful to properly manage all the gorillas they have. This is accomplished through great cooperation between institutions and overseen by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP). The SSP keeps track of all 350 gorillas in North America and makes recommendations for their management based on genetics, behavior and input from zoos.
Asha is a first time mother and did a wonderful job, which is also significant. It’s very important that a baby gorilla be raised by its mother to learn all the coping skills it will need to be socially happy throughout their lives. Her successful skills as a mother can be attributed to her good history having been raised herself in a normal gorilla family group with a good mother, siblings and a tolerant silverback at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX. After reaching a mature age and transferring from her natal group to the Cincinnati Zoo, Asha was slowly integrated into the family of gorillas here, led by silverback Jomo. Once she was comfortable with her position in the group, she was removed from birth control and allowed to conceive. It’s very important for a gorilla to give birth in a comfortable atmosphere that is conducive to the security needed for good mother-rearing. Mona is now about five months old and is still doing fantastic; she has a long bright future at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Unfortunately, Mona’s wild counterparts in the rainforests of Central Africa have more uncertain futures. Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are a critically endangered species and face many challenges due to rapid habitat loss among others. The good news is there are a lot of great people, places and organizations who really care, like the Cincinnati Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Nouabale-Ndoki Project (NNP). For approximately 15 years, the Zoo and the NNP have partnered to help protect this flagship species for conservation. The NNP is located in the Republic of Congo and has several gorilla-related efforts going on, including the following.
– Mondika is a site where researchers habituate wild gorilla families for up close daily detailed observation and provide visitors with an inspirational opportunity to see these magnificent animals up close.
– The Mbeli Bai Study is the longest-running research project being done on wild western lowland gorillas. Bais are naturally occurring swampy clearings in the rain forests. At Mbeli Bai, researchers spend eight hours a day on an elevated observation platform year-round observing about 300 different gorillas that enter this area to forage and socialize, in addition to a myriad of other species like forest elephants, sititunga antelope and buffalo. Eco-tourism is also available at this site.
– The Goualougo Triangle Ape Study covers an expansive area researching both gorillas and chimpanzees. They utilize wide grid census collection, incorporating state of the art camera trapping that produces wonderful candid and rare wildlife images and video.
– Club Ebobo is the education component for the NNP, connecting children and the local people to conservation of their natural heritage.
Looking forward to bringing you more Mondika Messages throughout the year!
I am proud to be a member of our zoo. The philosophy in caring for “our” animals runs deep to their roots. Not only within our zoo but in support of the natural habitats of our animals.
Great info, thank you! Watching our gorillas of all ages is indeed a treat. Will be glad when the weather becomes reasonable once again & our Gorilla Family can be outside where we can observe each other!