KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Zoo Knoxville is expecting its first baby gorilla since 2016 to arrive later this year.
On Wednesday, Zoo Knoxville announced the pregnancy of the female Western lowland gorilla, Kumi. The 27-year-old gorilla was paired with silverback Bantu and is due in late November or early December.
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Kumi arrived at Zoo Knoxville from the Bronx Zoo in April 2024 through a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan. The zoo said in 2024 that they were “hoping sparks [would] fly,” and that seems to be exactly what happened.
“When she first got here, they immediately showed interest in each other, so he was making breeding calls to her. She was receptive. We pulled her birth control in December 2024. Started urine collection training in January and then got our first faint positive in April,” Great Apes Keeper KateLyn Miller said…