Todd Rosenberg / Lincoln Park Zoo
Welcome back, Nayembi.
Those who have been following the story of the injured baby gorilla at the Lincoln Park Zoo can finally get a glimpse of the young one they first saw in February. Nayembi was born in November but reared by human zoo staff in a behind-the-scenes home after sustaining a facial injury inside the gorilla exhibit in February.
Zoo staff worked to successfully reunite Nayembi with her mother and other troop members, including baby Patty, born a month in October 2012, and silverback Kwan. Nayembi now lives among the gorilla troop in the Regenstein Center for African Apes.
“Nayembi is doing remarkably well, and the careful reintroduction process has gone according to plan for all of them so far,” explained Maureen Leahy, curator of primates at Lincoln Park Zoo, according to a statement. “The process is delicate. We are watching the gorillas’ behavior closely and their behavior guides our timing and decisions about reintroduction.”
The center opens to the public at 1 p.m. August 22. Exhibit hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekends through Labor Day.
