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Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History.
Gorilla Baby Update and Photos
At just over two years of age, Kibibi weighs about 25 pounds. The Zoo's youngest western lowland gorilla continues to become more adventurous and grow more independent of her mother, Mandara. Only when she is nervous does she stay close to mom, or ride on Mandara’s back. Kibibi enjoys spending time with and rides on the back of her older sister Kigali or her older brother Kojo.
Read more in the latest keeper update. | 
See new photos.
Named Kibibi ("little lady" in Swahili) by a public vote, she is one of six gorillas that live at the Great Ape House. Visitors can see them every day.
Celebrate our baby girl—adopt a western lowland gorilla!
Beach Party for the Gorillas
In August, keepers at the Zoo's Great Ape House gave the gorillas some beach-themed enrichment. They put a few piles of sand, shovels, and about 20 sand buckets filled with ice throughout the gorillas' yard. The gorillas were also given beach towels, a sun made of rice cereal, and fruitsicles in the shapes of ocean dwellers like crabs, dolphins, and lobsters. The keepers also painted cardboard cutouts in the shape of beach balls and sunglasses. Check out the photos.
National Zoo Gorillas are the First to Participate in Heart Disease Study
The same device used to detect early warning signs of heart disease in humans will now benefit two male sub-adult gorillas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. more
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Watching gorillas:
The Zoo is home to a family group of six western lowland gorillas, two adult females, three males, and a female baby born on in January 2009. Two of the males are juveniles who were born here at the Zoo—Kojo, who was born in November 2001, and Kwame, who was born in November 1999. The third male, Baraka, is a silverback, born here in in 1992. Gorillas are the world's largest primates and one of our closest relatives.
Gorilla Facts | 
Meet the Gorillas | Adopt a Gorilla
Golden Lion Tamarin Cam
Orangutan
Primates at the Zoo
The Zoo is home to many primates. Orangutans and western lowland gorillas can be found at the Great Ape House. Smaller primates, including golden lion tamarins,
Geoffroy's marmosets, and howler monkeys, can be found in the Small Mammal House. Look for gibbons at Gibbon Ridge and lemurs at Lemur Island. Find out where primates can be seen at the Zoo.
On mild days, the organgutans can sometimes be seen overhead as they travel along the O Line between the Great Ape House and Think Tank. The time visitors are mostly likely to see these apes on the O Line is between 11 and 11:30 a.m.
About Primates
There are 376 species of primates in the world—from humans and apes to monkeys and prosimians ("premonkeys").
The smallest primate is the pygmy mouse lemur, which can fit in the palm of your hand. The largest—the gorilla—can weigh more than 400 pounds. Most primates live in warm climates, and most depend on forests for their survival. More Primate Facts
