0:33Como Zoo once again is breaking out the bananas, welcoming its third newborn great ape in three months.
The new addition to the zoo's growing family is Arlene, a 5-pound western lowland gorilla born on Feb. 22 to first-time mother Dara, age 11, in the day room at Como's Gorilla Forest exhibit.
To give Dara and Arlene enough time and privacy to bond properly, mother and baby won't make their public debut until later this month.
Como officials decided to wait a week before announcing the good news to make sure they were doing well, senior zookeeper Allison Jungheim said. So far, the baby looks healthy and is nursing regularly, she said.
"It's been kind of a baby boom for us," said Jungheim, referring to recent births of two zebras, a giraffe, an orangutan and another gorilla. "Seems like there was something in the water."
Zebras Melee and Ruckus were born in July and September, respectively. Skye the giraffe was born in late November, and Kemala the orangutan was born in early January.
The other gorilla, a male, was born in mid-November to 12-year-old Alice, becoming Como's first newborn gorilla in the 56 years that the zoo has housed the large primates. But he died a few days later, because of difficulty with feeding. About 4 in 10 gorillas in captivity die in the first several months.
Nothing different was done with Dara's maternal care, Jungheim said, but it was easier monitoring Dara than it was Alice. Dara was trained to help zookeepers check her health, such as using ultrasound to monitor her pregnancy.
