Meet Charlie: the Toronto Zoo's newborn female gorilla
The name and gender were revealed at an event at the zoo's African Rainforest Pavilion on Thursday
The newest addition to the Toronto Zoo's gorilla family is a female and her name is Charlie, the zoo announced Thursday.
The name and sex of the newborn baby gorilla were revealed for the first time at a special ceremony at the zoo's African Rainforest Pavilion. Charles, the zoo's 46-year-old silverback male and Charlie's biological father, unveiled the sex by pulling a pink-coloured material out a box and the name by uncovering a banner that read: "My name is Charlie."
Baby Charlie, born on June 7 joins a family of three adults and four young gorillas. She was named after her father.
"We are very excited that Charlie is a girl," said Maria Franke, the curator of mammals at the Toronto Zoo, in a press release. "Charlie will be able to live in the family group for many years where she will learn family dynamics from the other females, including her older sister Nneka."
Zoo staff were unable to determine the sex at the time of birth because the newborn was sticking close to its mother, Ngozi.
Mom and baby are both healthy and doing well, and zoo staff will continue to monitor their development, said the zoo in a press release.
Western lowland gorillas are native to central Africa, and are found in the rainforests of Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Gabon. They are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.