As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we honor two of our extraordinary animal moms – Tapeko, a bottlenose dolphin, and Koola, a western lowland gorilla. The two moms have been extremely attentive to their young since their births. Koola gave birth to Nora on November 4, 2013. Guests who visit them in the zoos Tropic World: Africa exhibit will notice that Nora is showing more interest in her environment. While gaining more coordination with her movements, she is beginning to explore her surroundings and is even holding on to the vines in the exhibit. However, Koola makes sure her infant is still only an arms length away. When not exploring, Nora can often be seen playing with her mom and riding on her back as one of her favorite modes of transportation. Occasionally, under her watchful eye, Koola will allow her daughter Kamba, Noras 9-year-old half-sister, to carry Nora too. Tapeko is a very experienced mom having raised five offspring, including her most recent, 7-month-old Merlin, who was born October 16, 2013. Since his birth, Tapeko has been extremely attentive toward him as she cares for him 24 hours a day seven days a week while animal care staff continue to monitor his growth and development. Most recently, Tapeko has been engaging Merlin in more play behavior, which he seems to enjoy. Although Tapeko and Merlin are currently not on exhibit, the public can check out the zoos website at czs.org for updates on their progress.
Posted on: Sat, 10 May 2014 14:46:36 +0000
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