WASHINGTON — A commotion occurred about noon Sunday at the Great Ape House at the National Zoo. A collective buzz arose. A stroller jam ensued. Cameras clicked. Mandara, one of the female gorillas, had just appeared, cradling the zoo’s latest addition.
The 26-year-old Mandara had given birth to an infant, sex and name undetermined, about 1:45 p.m. Saturday, without fanfare in full view of staff employees and a few lucky onlookers. It was the first gorilla born at the zoo since 2001.
Zoo officials said the birth is significant because the animals, western lowland gorillas, are listed as critically endangered.
In February, zoo workers stopped giving Mandara her birth control pill, which was hidden in a morning banana. By March, they think, she had mated with Baraka, a 16-year-old male. The Washington Post
