Baby Gorilla Born Saturday at NC Zoo

Congratulations are in order to twelve-year-old Jamani of the NC Zoo who gave birth to a bouncing baby boy gorilla this past Saturday at 8 am. Good friend Tom Gillespie has shared some of the latest photos with me today. The baby has been named Bomassa after a town of the same name in the northern Republic of the Congo. Welcome Bomassa and congrats to the staff of the NC Zoo who have not seen a baby gorilla born at their park since Kwanza was birthed back in 1989.

Also, The Ravens Crossing (TRC), the free science fiction online series I write for began Season 2 today. If you haven't been following along, you are seriously missing out. Go find out what a Gaea is, and how they are related to humans. Visit Wildwood and meet our diverse cast of characters. Find out how they Balance the power of nature. You can read  free stories 6 days a week here. Season 1 is also posted on the sight in case you need to catch up. Don't miss the fun!

And, if travel blogs interest you, you might want to go give Old Pair of Jeans a read. It's my mom and her man sharing their adventures as they cross the US in an RV this summer. They are all the way across the Mississippi already. You can follow along and view Gene's fantastic photography to share their favorite adventures along the way.

Ocelot Cub Update

While we are on the subject of the NC Zoo, I thought I would field some of the questions concerning the ocelot cub link I shared some time ago on Facebook. The twin cubs were born last April. So, I checked in with some of my friends over at the zoo to find out how the little tikes are doing.








Laura Valadez, supervisor for the Sonora Desert Exhibit, where the ocelots live, says both juveniles are doing great. And, they aren't so little any more. In fact, their mother is on the small side for adult ocelots, and it wasn't long before the cubs were too big for her to pick up. So, she had to make do by dragging them around the exhibit to move them.

Many have been curious to know what will happen to the cubs now that they are almost grown. Each endangered species housed in accredited captive facilities like the NC Zoo is part of what is called a A Species Survival Plan (SSP). Each plan has usually several coordinators and a Taxon Advisory Group (TAG). Careful records are kept on the genetics, health, and history of each animal in captivity so that recommendations can be made by the SSP for where each animal would best be placed. The animals are then relocated to other facilities to assure continued breeding success and genetic viability of that captive species.

Valadez reports that the NC Zoo is still awaiting these recommendations. The meetings are scheduled to take place next month. The NC Zoo will then discuss these with the other recommended facilities listed and make plans for the juveniles to be shipped to their new homes accordingly. In the meantime, the juveniles have already grown until they are difficult to tell apart from their parents. Here's a current image.



Thanks to Tom Gillespie and Brigitte Thompson for providing the photos.