The Smithsonian’s National Zoo welcomed a baby western lowland gorilla on Saturday. The baby is the second born to 20-year-old mom, Calaya and 31-year-old dad, Baraka.
The baby western lowland gorilla born about two weeks ago at the National Zoo now has a name, thanks to thousands of animal fans who voted in a poll on the Zoo's website.
Meet baby Zahra:
Her name is the Swahili word for "beautiful flower," and was chosen with about 50% of the votes in a poll on the National Zoo's website.
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The other two name options, Lola and Mkali, received about 33% and 23% of the votes, respectively.
The poll was open from June 5 to June 9, and a total 24,223 voted to name the gorilla.
According the Zoo's website, western lowland gorillas are native to Africa and live in forests in Gabon, Central Africa Republic, Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Congo.
"These gorillas are considered critically endangered, and primary threats to their survival include disease, poaching, and habitat destruction due to farming and mining activities in their habitat," the Zoo said in a news release about Zahra's name.
With Zahra now making her home in D.C., there's at least one more western lowland gorilla in the world.
Zahra is the second gorilla born to 20-year-old mom Calaya and 31-year-old dad Baraka. She joins her parents, her brother 4-year-old Moke, and two other adult gorillas in the National Zoo's troop.
To learn more about Zahra, and a bunch of other baby animals at the National Zoo, click here.
