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The Zoo's western lowland gorillas live in one group at the Great Ape House. One of the three adult females is the mother of another female and the two young males. The group may be in the outdoor yard or inside, depending on the time of day and the weather.

Six baby gorillas have been born at the National Zoo since 1991. The youngest gorilla in the collection is Kojo, who was born in November 2001.

	Haloko – female Haloko was wild born about July 1967. She came to the Zoo in December 1989 from the Bronx Zoo. She is owned by the Philadelphia Zoo. She is the mother of Baraka, who was raised from birth by Mandara. Baraka left for Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo in March 2004 and returned to the Zoo in late 2006. Distinguishing features: Haloko is a quiet animal who is very cooperative with the keepers. She has stiff fingers on her right hand. She weighs 220 pounds.
	Mandara - female Mandara was born at the Lincoln Park Zoo in April 1982. She is owned by the Milwaukee Zoo. She came to the National Zoo in October 1985 with Kuja to be socialized into a troop of unrelated gorillas. Mandara has five offspring: Kejana (now at Disney), Kigali, Ktembe (now at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo), Kwame, and Kojo. She is the adoptive mother of Baraka. She is named after a mountain range in Cameroon. Distinguishing features: She is a small female weighing 153 pounds. She has large breasts.
	Kigali – female Kigali was born at the Zoo in May 1994 to Mandara and Gus. Kigali is named for the capital of Rwanda because of the country's 1994 war. It means "a big place." Distinguishing features: At 155 pounds, she is quite slender and is also dark.
	Baraka - male Baraka was born at the National Zoo in 1992 to Haloko and Gus, but was raised by Mandara, who was discovered carrying him two hours after his birth. He went to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha in March 2004 and returned in late 2006. His full name is Baraka ya Mwelu, which means "blessing of light." Distinguishing features: Baraka is the Zoo's silverback gorilla. He weighs 390.
	Kwame – male Kwame was born in November 1999 to Mandara and Kuja. His name means "born on Saturday." Distinguishing features: Kwame is the second largest male gorilla and is bigger than his mother.
	Kojo – male Kojo was born on November 5, 2001, at the Zoo to Mandara and Kuja. Kojo was named in the Starbucks naming contest in April 2002. His name means "born on a Monday." Distinguishing features: Kojo is the smallest gorilla in the group but is growing fast.

National Zoo Diet
In the morning, each group is fed together. Food items are cut up and spread over a wide area, in the summer this is usually the yard. In the afternoon, individuals are separated so each animal gets its share of preferred food items.

Morning foods include kale, celery, green beans, carrots, chow, and sweet potato. Evening foods include banana, apples, oranges, chow, veg du jour (onions, broccoli, turnips, white potatoes, coconut, squash, and cucumbers), and such fruits as orange, pineapple, papaya, melon, and kiwi. Forage items placed in hay include popcorn, sunflower seeds, peanuts, bird of paradise pellets and jungle mix. Browse (fresh tree trimmings) is given daily and includes bradford pear, willow, mulberry with berries and maple are their favored tree species.

Life Span:
Gorillas live about 35 years in the wild, and up to 54 in zoos.