Toronto Zoo reveals gender and name of newest resident

The Toronto Zoo held a special ceremony on Thursday to reveal the gender and name of one of its newest residents.

Ngozi, a 20-year-old western Lowland gorilla, gave birth to a baby gorilla born on June 7.

The zoo revealed Thursday that the baby is a girl.

She’s been named “Charlie” in honour of her 46-year-old father, Charles.

Traditionally, baby gorilla’s names begin with the same letter as their mothers, but zoo staff felt it was the right time to honour Charles.

Charles, a western Lowland gorilla, has resided at the Toronto Zoo since the very beginning in 1974.

He has fathered 16 children, 11 of which have been born at the zoo.

Staff say they’re pleased his latest child is a girl as it means she can stay at the zoo for the foreseeable future.

Male offspring of gorillas tend to be relocated as they can clash violently with their fathers.

Meet Charlie 👋

This morning we hosted a gender and name reveal for our new baby gorilla. This female baby was born on June 7th, and is named Charlie by Wildlife Care Staff as a namesake of her father Charles, the Zoo’s 46-year-old silverback male. MORE: https://t.co/oYxQ4JRilU pic.twitter.com/eAEG770j6F

— The Toronto Zoo (@TheTorontoZoo) June 14, 2018