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Critically-endangered gorilla with “beautiful big brown eyes” born at Ohio zoo
An Ohio zoo welcomed an adorable — and critically endangered — baby gorilla over the weekend.
The newborn western lowland gorilla is mother Sue’s first child, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said Wednesday. She’s been very attentive to her baby, nuzzling and cradling the newborn.
“With tiny hands and beautiful big brown eyes that melt our hearts, this baby is absolutely precious — in regard to both the cuteness factor and what the baby represents for this species’ future,” said Audra Meinelt, curator of the Columbus Zoo’s Congo Expedition region, in a statement.
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Zoo workers have decided to wait before determining if the baby is a boy or a girl to ensure Sue and her newborn can bond with minimal interruptions. Though the care team is keeping its distance, experienced father Ktembe, along with several other gorillas, are together at the zoo. The adult gorillas — Ktembe and adult females Nia and Cassie — have been giving Sue and her baby some space.
The newborn will likely grow to weigh around 300 to 500 pounds if it’s a boy, and 150 to 200 pounds if it’s a girl, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Adult males stand up to 6 feet tall, while adult females stand up to 4.5 feet tall.
Jamani, the 4-year-old child of Ktembe and Cassie, has been curious and “seems a little too eager for playtime with her new half sibling,” according to the zoo. Other members of the gorilla troop have gently corrected Jamani.
Sue has been at the Columbus Zoo since 2014. She was born at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo in 2004, while Ktembe was born at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 2017. He arrived at the Columbus Zoo a few years after Sue. Their pairing was recommended by the Species Survival Plan, which is a program by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums designed to maintain the genetic diversity of threatened and endangered species.
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
The Columbus Zoo was home to Colo, the first gorilla to be born in a zoo in 1956. Colo lived to be 60, and passed away in 2017. In all, 35 gorillas have been born at the Columbus Zoo.
While Sue has been bonding well with her new baby, that’s not always the case. Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo welcomed a baby gorilla on Friday, but the newborn’s mom unfortunately hasn’t shown “appropriate maternal behaviors despite the months-long maternal skills training the gorilla care team provided,” according to the Woodland Park Zoo. The care team there intervened within an hour after delivery and has been hand rearing the newborn.
“Although we have been encouraging maternal behaviors, Akenji still hasn’t shown any promising signs of interest to bond with her baby. Because she demonstrated capable maternal behaviors throughout her training program, we’re disappointed and a little surprised those instincts haven’t kicked in,” said Rachel Vass, interim animal care manager at Woodland Park Zoo, in a statement. “As we continue to hand-rear her baby for the short term, the positive news is that he remains healthy, he has a great appetite and strong grip, and he is getting bigger every day.”
The population of western lowland gorillas has declined by more than 60% over the last 20 to 25 years, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo. The species suffers from high levels of disease, and has been targeted by hunters.
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Wisconsin school shooter was in contact with California man plotting his own attack, court documents say
The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California whom authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became public Wednesday.
Police were still investigating why the 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison shot and killed a fellow student and teacher on Monday before shooting herself, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told the Associated Press Wednesday. Two other students who were shot remained in critical condition on Wednesday.
A Southern California judge issued a restraining order Tuesday under California’s gun red flag law against a 20-year-old Carlsbad man. The order requires the man to turn his guns and ammunition into police within 48 hours unless an officer asks for them sooner because he poses an immediate danger to himself and others.
Carlsbad is located just north of San Diego.
According to the order, the man told FBI agents that he had been messaging Natalie Rupnow, the Wisconsin shooter, about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives. The order doesn’t say what building he had targeted or when he planned to launch his attack. It also doesn’t detail his interactions with Rupnow except to state that the man was plotting a mass shooting with her.
CBS’ San Diego affiliate KFMB-TV reported that law enforcement searched the man’s home Tuesday night after the order was signed by the judge.
Police, with the assistance of the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and speaking with the shooter’s parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive for the shooting, Barnes told the AP.
Police don’t know if anyone was targeted in the attack or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said. Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
“I do not know if if she planned it that day or if she planned it a week prior,” Barnes said. “To me, bringing a gun to school to hurt people is planning. And so we don’t know what the premeditation is.”
On a Madison city website providing details about the shooting, police disclosed Wednesday that two guns were found at the school, but only one was used in the shooting. A law enforcement source previously told CBS News the weapon used appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
Barnes told the AP that he did not know how the suspected shooter obtained the guns and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.
No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might be charged in relation to the shooting, but they have been cooperating, Barnes told the AP.
Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school that offers prekindergarten classes through high school. About 420 students attend the institution.
The Dan County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the two people killed Wednesday as 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
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