Photo credit: Mehgan Murphy/Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Well, the voting public has spoken (all 10,000 of you, apparently) and the National Zoo has dubbed the two-month old baby female gorilla Kibibi (kee-BEE-bee).
The public was invited to vote on three names for the gorilla, including Kipenzi (kee-PEHN-zee) “loved one” and Keyah (KAY-yah) “good health,” over the course of several weeks. Kibibi was born at the Zoo Jan. 10 to 26-year-old female Mandara and 16-year-old Baraka.
According to the National Zoo, “Kibibi already has four teeth, has been riding increasingly on Mandara’s back and shows an interest in her environment, especially in food given to Mandara. In the coming weeks, she is expected to begin exploring her surroundings and manipulating objects.” I went to the zoo last weekend to check her out while my parents were in town visiting, and she’s pretty cute. She was basically doing what she’s doing in the above picture, just chillin’ with her Mom. Ahh, the good life.
