Baby gorilla to move to surrogate mother after maternal bonding fails at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo

In what seems to be a trend, a baby gorilla at the Woodland Park Zoo has not bonded with his mother and is being moved to a surrogate mom at another zoo.

The 1.5-month-old male gorilla was born June 28 to first-time mom Akenji and dad Kwame at Woodland Park Zoo.

According to a press release, an animal care team quickly took over after the birth because “Akenji did not show appropriate maternal behaviors despite the months-long maternal skills training the gorilla care team provided.”

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Zoo officials say a bond has not developed in the six weeks since the baby gorilla was born.

Zoo workers trained three experienced gorilla moms at Woodland Park to serve as potential surrogates. But they said progress “has not advanced fast enough.”

The zoo is working with the Gorilla Species Survival Plan, which maintains a list of potential surrogate moms at zoos across the country, according to a blog post.

“We include this option in our birth management planning in case it becomes necessary,” said Martin Ramirez, interim senior director of animal care at Woodland Park Zoo. “We’re confident the infant will be placed in a great home, and we’ll share final details upon his safe arrival.”

This isn’t the first time a new gorilla mom has failed to bond with its baby. In 2015, baby female gorilla Yola had a similar experience with her mother Nadiri.

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In that case, Yola was eventually able to be reunited with her mom and gorilla family. The same thing happened initially when Nadiri gave birth for a second time in 2021, but mom and baby were able to bond within a few weeks.

The yet unnamed baby male gorilla is the 16th gorilla born at the Woodland Park Zoo.

Ramirez said it's imperative for baby gorillas to imprint with other gorillas at an early age.

“The longer he’s cared for solely by humans, the more he is hindered from learning the complex social cues of gorillas and the higher the risk of becoming imprinted on humans,” he said. “As he continues to grow and reach important developmental milestones, this is a critical time in his life to be raised directly in the care of gorillas.”