Baby gorillas at AK

[nilla]

I read that, last year, two new gorillas were born to mothers at AK, but haven't heard much about it since. Are both currently in the enclosure with their mothers, the father, Lilly, etc?

 

[wisblue]

We saw the mothers and babies and Lily on our trip last week. They told me that the father was in the enclosure but he wasn't visible right then.

As you probably know, Lily's mother is the mother of one of the babies too.

The babies are still quite tiny.

 

[nilla]

We saw the mothers and babies and Lily on our trip last week. They told me that the father was in the enclosure but he wasn't visible right then.

As you probably know, Lily's mother is the mother of one of the babies too.

The babies are still quite tiny.

Awesome! We saw Lilly when she was only a few months old, but missed her on some of our more recent trips. The increase in the number of small apes in the area seems like it should increase the likelihood we see at least one of them

 

[PA Disneymania]

This is one of the moms with her baby. The other one was on the move when I got there, but we did see both of them.

 

[acourtwdw]

I saw the momma with the 8 month old baby last week. So cute!

 

[nilla]

View attachment 90093
This is one of the moms with her baby. The other one was on the move when I got there, but we did see both of them.

After seeing that photo, I'm starting to think we need to add a second AK day to our plans

 

[Best Aunt]

Yep. Lilly's dad and mom had a baby in September. Lilly's dad and another female had a baby in September. When we were there last month, we saw all of them plus the other female who lives with them. We were standing in the area near the glass. If you are trying to tell them apart, Lilly's mom is smaller than the other mom.

 

[PA Disneymania]

The day we were there the animals were quite active. It wasn't very hot yet at 11 am. This was the week of April 12. There was a tiger who put on quite a show for us. We watched him for a good 30 minutes and the gorillas another 20 - 30. Also watched the Flights of Wonder for the first time and that was an excellent show.

 

[LindaOwl1]

I spent quite a bit of time watching the gorillas and talking to the caretakers in November. The dad is Gino (age 34). Kashada is the mother of Lilly and one of the new boys - Flint. Flint is named after one of the first chimps studied by Jane Goodall. The second mother is Azizi - her son is Cory. Not sure on any of these spellings. There is another female in the enclosure - Banga (age 44). She came to the AK with Gino - so even though she is not the mother of any Gorillas there, she is sort of the grandmother. It was really fascinating to watch them for a couple hours.

 

[CarolynFH]

The male gorillas are in a separate enclosure - because they would not hang around with the females in the wild. After you see the moms and babies, you'll go around a corner, and Gino is often on the left side of the path.

 

[PatMcDuck]

Once we saw 2 tigers playing in the water at AK, with a ball. I will never forget it! We love AK. I will look for those baby gorillas next week.

 

[LaurenT]

The male gorillas are in a separate enclosure - because they would not hang around with the females in the wild. After you see the moms and babies, you'll go around a corner, and Gino is often on the left side of the path.

The males on the opposite side are the bachelors. They can't be with a family group. The dad is with the family.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Saw them both on the last trip.

The guide at AK actually said one of the gorillas is not doing well as a mother. Apparently that gorilla was not raised correctly, so the baby is struggling to learn a little due to neglect. That baby has been a bit of a "project" for the caretakers at AK. The other is doing well and developing normally.

 

[Bkk40in2011]

Thanks for posting all this! This makes me so excited for our trip next week!

 

[Best Aunt]

There is another female in the enclosure - Banga (age 44).

On the day I was there, the cast member referred to her as the father's "main squeeze."

 

[awalker1015]

We saw them in March. Adorable. Only saw the babies and mother. I can't remember if the father was in the habitat.

 

[mullysisters]

The babies will spend their lives behind glass and bars being stared at. Why would Disney breed animals that can never be released?

 

[eyehartdisney]

The babies will spend their lives behind glass and bars being stared at. Why would Disney breed animals that can never be released?

So that they can populate the zoos without needing to take from the wild?


And nilla, may I propose a name for your next TR? Going Bananas: Disney Gone Wild.

 

[nilla]

And nilla, may I propose a name for your next TR? Going Bananas: Disney Gone Wild.

I like it! But, sadly, I already have a name for my upcoming TR. And yes, it's monkey-related

Thanks for all the responses to this thread! This makes me even more excited for our June trip!

 

[LaurenT]

The babies will spend their lives behind glass and bars being stared at. Why would Disney breed animals that can never be released?

So we'll still have gorillas on the planet after we've destroyed their habitat and hunted them into extinction?
And they seem perfectly content. They have enrichment activities and a similar environment as the wild, they have a family to live with and no predators to worry about. This is not an Orca in a bathtub being forced to do tricks to amuse us. These are well cared for animals who act as ambassadors to get humans to care enough to protect them.

Oh, and the glass is only on one side - the other side is completely open - and the gorillas have free reign to hang out on whatever side they want.