Gorilla born at Woodland Park Zoo meets his new foster mom in Louisville

LOUISVILLE — A baby gorilla who was born at Woodland Park Zoo appears to be settling in nicely at his new home in Louisville.

The Louisville Zoo posted a video Tuesday, announcing that Abeo has finally met his foster mom Kweli and the two are hitting it off.

General Curator Ron Evans says up until this week, zoo staff has been caring for the one-year-old.

On Tuesday, which happened to be World Gorilla Day, they made the switch while Abeo was napping.

“It took a few minutes to decide that she was going to pick the baby up, but as soon as he started squawking just a little bit when he woke up from his nap, Kweli gathered him right up and they’ve been together ever since,” Evans said.

The interaction went so smoothly, that staff also introduced Abeo to Kweli’s 8-year-old foster daughter Kindi.

Abeo was born in Seattle on June 28 to first-time mom Akenji.

When she didn’t bond with her infant, Woodland Park Zoo collaborated with the Gorilla Species Survival Plan to find him a new home.

The Louisville Zoo’s 40-year-old female gorilla Kweli was selected to be the baby’s foster mom because of her success with Kindi.

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