CLEVELAND — Jameela, the baby gorilla prematurely-born at the Fort Worth Zoo, has arrived at her new home.
After two failed surrogacy attempts, Fort Worth Zoo officials made the decision to transfer Jameela to Cleveland Metroparks Zoo to continue her surrogacy journey. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo posted a reel on Facebook Thursday showing Jameela's arrival.
The now 11-week-old western lowland gorilla had interest from multiple gorillas at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, but promise was shown with the surrogate choice, Fredrika or "Freddy." She made some vocalizations with Jameela, zoo officials said. Another gorilla in the troop, Kayembe, showed interest in Jameela and looked like he wanted to play with her, the zoo officials said in the video. Freddy is the adoptive mother of Kayembe, according to the zoo's website.
Freddy is the oldest gorilla in the troop and has raised four other infants, in addition to Kayembe, showing social savviness and wisdom.
The zoo transfer comes after Jameela's mother, Sekani, did not show interest in her after having an emergency C-section. Fort Worth Zoo officials said that, while it’s hard to determine the exact reason why the two never bonded, they suspect Sekani never experienced the necessary hormonal cues that come during a natural and full-term birth, which would've triggered a traditional mother-baby relationship.
After Sekani showed disinterest, the zoo then turned to surrogacy training with a 24-year-old female gorilla named Gracie, but according to the zoo's Facebook page, the "surrogacy training with her has slowed and unfortunately, the progress we were needing to see has not been observed."
Fort Worth Zoo officials said they then made the decision to end Gracie's surrogacy training, and to shift focus to surrogacy with another female in the troop, Winifred.
Surrogacy efforts with Winifred also failed, according to an update posted on the Fort Worth Zoo Facebook page.
"While we hoped for a different outcome – one that includes Jameela fully integrated into our troop – our main goal has always been that Jameela is raised by gorillas," the zoo said in its Friday update. "In conjunction with our reintroduction efforts, we have been in communication with our national partners for several weeks, searching for an institution that can not only meet her needs, but has a female gorilla with proven surrogate experience."
After both failed attempts, Fort Worth Zoo officials decided to transfer Jameela to Cleveland.
"We are understandably heartbroken," the Fort Worth Zoo said. "Jameela has left an indelible mark on all of us here at the Zoo and in the Fort Worth community."
"She will always be a part of the Fort Worth Zoo and, once she is grown and her father is not the silverback, we hope to see her back in Fort Worth one day," the Fort Worth Zoo concluded.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo will continue to post updates about Jameela on their Facebook page.
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