A male Western Lowland Gorilla born at the Oklahoma City Zoo on
Valentine’s Day was given a name on his one-month birthday: the
baby will be called Leom, which combines the last two letters of
his mother’s name, Kelele, and his father’s name, Bom Bom. Leom
is the first birth for 19-year-old Kelele, who has ben providing
excellent care to her newborn. Female Gorillas carry their
infants 24 hours a day, never putting them down. Leom’s father,
Bom Bom, was a beloved 36-year-old silverback who died in July
2012 of cardiac arrest. Photo Credits: Andrea Wright (1,3,4,5);
Gillian Lang (2) The zoo’s three young male Gorillas, who have
never seen a baby Gorilla before, are very curious about Leom.
Kelele, always protective of her baby, keeps her distance from
them for now. With Leom’s birth, the Oklahoma City Zoo continues
its involvement in the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP)
through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). One of the
SSP's most important roles is to ensure that the Gorilla
population remains