Fort Worth’s baby gorilla is headed to this zoo in the Midwest. Here’s what to know

Ella Gonzales
·3 min read
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Visit the zoo one last time to see Jameela, Fort Worth’s popular infant gorilla. She will be heading 1,227 miles northeast to Ohio and be paired with a surrogate mother next week.

So can we trust Cleveland Metropark Zoo to take care of Fort Worth’s prized baby gorilla?

Just look at that face, who would want to give up something that cute. Unfortunately, the Fort Worth Zoo said it has done all it could.

“While we hoped for a different outcome — one that includes Jameela fully integrated into our troop — our main goal has always been that Jameela is raised by gorillas,” reads a post on the Fort Worth Zoo Facebook page. “We are understandably heartbroken, Jameela has left an indelible mark on all of us here at the Zoo and in the Fort Worth community.”

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Luckily, the Cleveland Zoo has had much success in pairing baby gorillas with surrogate mothers. Not just surrogacy, but gorilla care overall. It is a national leader in gorilla management.

Cleveland Zoo has experience in gorilla surrogacy

Back in 2022, Cleveland welcomed its first surrogate baby. They weren’t sure how it would go but it was extraordinary. Kayembe — whose name means extraordinary — was taken under Fredricka’s care. Fredircka started lactating while caring for baby Kayembe even though she hadn’t given birth.

“An amazing scientific feat that has not been documented in gorillas as old as Freddy (Fredericka). As a 47-year-old female who has had a hysterectomy, and did not birth baby Kayembe, it was very unexpected,” according to a 2022 press release from the Cleveland Zoological Society.

Gorilla keeper Angie Holmes feeds baby gorilla Jameela on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at the Fort Worth Zoo. Jameela has been under the constant care of Holmes and a multitude of other zoo staff since she was born by Cesarean section.
Gorilla keeper Angie Holmes feeds baby gorilla Jameela on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at the Fort Worth Zoo. Jameela has been under the constant care of Holmes and a multitude of other zoo staff since she was born by Cesarean section.

Kayembe reacted positively to the adjustment and has begun branching out by himself and socializing with other male gorillas in the zoo.

“This is an important development step that will help teach Kayembe how to be a male gorilla and lead a troop of his own one day,” according to the Cleveland Zoological Society.

Gorillas are a specialty of the Cleveland Zoo

Overall, Cleveland Zoo has one of the largest primate exhibits in all of the U.S. Gorilla care is one of their specialties. To help them understand the social nature of the wild, gorillas need bachelor groups. Bachelor groups is when one male gorilla lives with three or four female gorillas.

Moloko is Cleveland’s male silverback gorilla, who has taken a liking to Kayembe, and also leader of Cleveland’s bachelor group.

All of this points to Jameela having a s hot at a great life at the Cleveland Zoo. Her spot is waiting for her in the Bachelor group. The program she is joining is the most-studied primate program in the country.

Though the surrogate search is still ongoing, Kayembe is a great testament to what Jameela can expect at her new home.

To see Jameela before her great migration, Fort Worth Zoo will have her out in the World of Primates exhibit on Sat., March 23 and Sun. March 24 from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.