00:01We just had a gorilla baby born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
00:06The baby and mom are doing great and the mom Kokomo and her baby are on exhibit at the park
00:11right now.
00:14Kokomo came to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on breeding loan.
00:18She actually had four other babies at the Oklahoma City Zoo, but this is her first baby here with Winston.
00:25These are western lowland gorillas and all gorillas are endangered so it makes us doubly excited about this birth.
00:32Right now you can see the baby nursing from the mom and you can see the mom taking good care
00:38of the baby,
00:39cuddling it and patting it and switching the baby from side to side.
00:44At this point, gorilla babies are very dependent on their moms.
00:48They have to be supported 24-7 so the mom is really busy.
00:53Gorilla babies nurse for up to three years, longer if their mom takes longer to wean them.
00:58So they are infants for a full three years.
01:02So Winston and all the rest of the females in the troop are all out there with mom and baby.
01:08They are interested in the baby, babies are always attractive,
01:11and so they are checking in on mom and the baby but everything is going just fine.
01:18So this is the first gorilla baby we have had born at the park since 2000.
01:23So come on out and see them, they are all on exhibit.
01:35We are out here at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and today we are pleased to announce that the
01:40new baby gorilla has been named Monroe.
01:43in honor of Dr. Lee Monroe, President Emeritus of San Diego Zoo Global.
01:54Well Kokomo and her little boy Monroe, who is almost three weeks old, are doing just great.
01:59He is at the point now where he is starting to look around and wave his arms and open his
02:05eyes.
02:05He is seeing past mom now a little bit and she is getting more comfortable with him and she is
02:11setting him down a little bit.
02:12She doesn't let go of him of course, but they are doing just great.
02:17Well Winston is being the very protective male as he should be, but of course food trumps all.
02:22So if he sees a snack that he would rather have than the girls, he will take it from them.
02:37Being the good mother that she is, Kokomo is very cautious and she does spend some time by herself.
02:45The best time to see a Kokomo and her baby is probably about 9 o'clock in the morning when
02:49the park first opens and it is still cool.
02:51And then throughout the day she will be in and out of view.
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