Two baby Western lowland gorillas in the Prague Zoo

A week-old gorilla baby (in the front) and its three-month-old sister Mobi (in the back) in the Prague Zoo. Both babies are thriving as they get excellent care from their mothers and can be seen perfectly from the visitors area. Photo: Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

“This extraordinary breeding success is a result of a very hard decision to seperate the gorillas into two different groups – the family one in the new Dja Reserve pavillion and the bachelor group of males in the original Méfou Centre pavillion,” states the Prague Zoo director Miroslav Bobek. “It already feels like a miracle happening right in front of our eyes, but the best is yet to come: When the two babies will be discovering the world side by side and playing together. It will be enrichening for both the gorilla group and the zoo's visitors.”

Since the original silverback of the family group, the 32 year-old Richard, already has five living offspring, his genes are well represented in European zoos and it is not beneficial to let him or his sons breed further for now. That is why the European Gorilla Breeding Programme (EEP) coordinator recommended establishing a breeding group with a new male back in 2022.

In conclusion all of the female western lowland gorillas, along with the juvenile male Ajabu, were moved to the new gorilla house together with the newly arrived 26-year-old silverback Kisumu in September 2022. They were also joined by the young female Duni who arrived from Cabárceno, Spain, and who is the daughter of the first ever born gorilla in the Czech Republic, the famous Moja.

All of the ten Prague gorillas will be visited by the legendary primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall on 11th May. Dr. Goodall will choose and reveal the name of the second born gorilla and will give a free public lecture at the Czech Life Sciences University in Prague.

The Prague Zoo keeps the critically endangered Western lowland gorillas since 1963. The first breeding success came when the above mentioned Moja was born in December 2004. Since 2013 Prague Zoo is also helping wild gorillas in Cameroon through The Wandering Bus project. Its main goal is to stop illegal poaching in the area of the Dja Biosphere Reserve through educating the locals and offering them sustainable alternatives to the bush meat.