Prague zoo welcomes new gorilla cub
The Prague Zoo in Troja has announced the birth of a new gorilla cub, their spokesperson announced.
On Tuesday, the Prague Zoo welcomed a new baby gorilla to their Dja Reserve pavilion. The cub, whose sex still remains unknown, was born to ten-year-old mother Duni and 26-year-old father Kisumu. Both gorillas are of the Western lowland species. Mother Duni is the daughter of the renowned Moja, the first gorilla born in captivity in Czechia in 2004.
The birth of the new cub is welcome news after the zoo faced a difficult choice to split up the existing gorilla group and bring in an additional male for breeding purposes. Prague Zoo director Miroslav Bobek said in a statement that “our joy is all the greater because the story of the famous Moja thus continues”.
Moja, whose name means “the first” in Swahili, was born in 2004 and was later sent to the Cabárceno National Park in northern Spain to prevent in-breeding in the Prague Zoo pack.
The new cub is healthy and has begun feeding from its mother without any noted trouble. Its name has yet to be decided.
The Dja Reserve pavilion was closed to the public after the birth, and plans to reopen today. Breeders at the zoo are expecting another baby gorilla this year, in approximately three months’ time.
