Practicing to be a Mom

Every so often, Bomassa goes over and pays a visit to Acacia. She's a very sweet auntie to him. Pregnant, and due to deliver her very first baby some day this month or next, Acacia should be ready for motherhood. After all, she has recently observed the successful births of two baby gorillas and this ought to help her to know how to respond when the big moment comes.

Bomassa comes to see Acacia

Acacia herself was hand-raised, meaning that for one reason or another, when she was born in 1995 in Oklahoma City, her mother Fredrika was unable to raise her. Zoo visitors sometimes wonder if Acacia has any consciousness that she is about to have a baby. Surely in a second or third pregnancy, a mother gorilla would have an awareness, I would guess. But for the the first baby? They also are curious as to whether she feels left out of the party. After all, both of the other lady gorillas at the North Carolina Zoo have babies. Hopefully all goes well and soon Acacia will have a healthy baby of her own to care for.  Do you think it will be a girl or a boy?