CLEVELAND — Baby gorilla Jameela, recently transferred to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo from the Fort Worth Zoo in a fostering effort, is continuing to bond with surrogate mom Fredrika, or “Freddy,” Cleveland Zoo officials said in an update Wednesday.
“It has been going really well. Freddy picked her back up, she’s putting her on her back and letting her ride on her back…and she’s carrying her,” animal curator Dr. Elena Less said in a new video update from the Cleveland Zoo. “As the day progressed, we started to see a lot more bonding between Freddy and Jameela. She was carrying her almost all of the time, putting her in nests, and setting up nests for her and laying next to her, and then we were so excited to see Jameela nursing from Freddy. We’ve seen it twice and we do feel that Jameela’s getting quite a bit of nutrition from that.”
“We are continuing to ask Freddy to bring her over for bottles as well, and Freddy has been doing a great job of doing that,” Less added.
See the update from the Cleveland Zoo below:
Cleveland zoo officials will continue to introduce Jameela into that zoo’s gorilla group over the next couple of days, Less added.
Jameela’s transfer to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo from the Fort Worth Zoo was announced late last month.
Jameela was born prematurely via emergency cesarean at the Fort Worth Zoo in January after her mother, 33-year-old gorilla Sekani, experienced life-threatening complications. She was the first gorilla to be born via cesarean section in that zoo’s 115-year history.
“Unfortunately, Sekani and other female gorillas at Fort Worth Zoo did not show maternal behaviors that would indicate a successful bond with Jameela,” the zoo’s previous announcement read. “After attempts to introduce Jameela into the Fort Worth Zoo’s gorilla troop, it was collectively determined that her next best step is a move to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo where every effort will be made to successfully integrate her into their troop.”
Jameela's transfer to Cleveland came after zoo officials say Cleveland’s troop had recent success in gorilla fostering after the eldest female there quickly adopted Kayembe in 2021 after his birth mother “similarly didn’t display proper maternal care.”