Ktembe, in the Limelight
by Howard Youth
Photo by Jessie Cohen/NZP
Lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) face serious threats throughout their remaining range in the jungles of equatorial Africa. Hunting, habitat destruction, and the continuing menace of warfare in such countries as Zaire put this peaceful, shy primate at risk. While conservationists work to save gorillas in the wild, zoos are trying with some success to maintain a self-sustaining population of gorillas. In the United States, 340 or so gorillas reside in zoos; a total of about 700 gorillas live in zoos worldwide. Since 1982, zoos have joined forces under a Species Survival Plan (SSP) to ensure that the North American gorilla population remains genetically diverse and healthy. Gorillas are exchanged between zoos to create groupings that result in successful breeding.
At the National Zoo, the SSP era has been a boon. Introductions
and monitoring, and a policy of minimal interference, have
helped bring about a string of gorilla babies,
all mother reared. The latest birth came on March 13, when
Ktembe, a male, appeared on the scene. Ktembe is 15-year-old
Mandara's third baby, and her last since the female Kigali
was born in May 1994. Mandara's first baby, Kejana, was born
in 1991, following a 20-year hiatus in Zoo gorilla births.
With a little luck and a lot of care from his family group,
Ktembe--the eighth gorilla born at the Zoo--should continue
to thrive and grow.
(ZooGoer 26(3) 1997. Copyright 1997 Friends of the National Zoo. All rights reserved.)
