The National Zoo wants input on what to call its baby western lowland gorilla; here’s how you can vote on a name this week.
Through a gender reveal party hosted Monday, the Smithsonian鈥檚 National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute announced that the baby born on May 27 is a girl.
The baby, born to parents Calaya (mother, 20 years old) and Baraka (father, 31 years old), seems “healthy and strong,” and Calaya’s parenting skills are “excellent,” zoo staff said in a news release.
The deadline to is Friday at midnight. Here are the options for baby names:
- Lola (LOH-lah) | Yoruba for 鈥済reatness鈥�
- Mkali (M-KAH-lee) | Swahili for 鈥渇ierce鈥�
- Zahra (ZAH-rah) | Swahili for 鈥渂eautiful flower鈥�
The newborn also has a 5-year-old brother, Moke, at the zoo. Other gorillas in the zoo’s troop include 41-year-old Mandara and her 14-year-old daughter, Kibibi.
Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered, with the biggest threats to the species survival being disease, poaching, and habitat destruction, according to the zoo.
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