SEATTLE - Just in time for Mother's Day, Woodland Park Zoo is proud to announce the beginning of another chapter in the lives of its endangered gorillas. Nine-year-old Alafia and 21-year-old Vip are expecting their first infant in October. This marks Alafia's first pregnancy and will represent Vip's third offspring. Vip and Alafia live in separate gorilla exhibits.

Last summer, zoo gorilla keepers began giving Vip and Alafia access to each other. Due to the intricate dynamics among the zoo's two gorilla groups, however, zoo officials decided to leave Alafia with her original group instead of transferring her into Vip's. Notably, their baby won't suffer any shortage of family life. Alafia shares an exhibit with 32-year-old Pete, her father; 32-year-old Nina, her mother; and 4-year-old Nadiri, a hand-raised gorilla to whom Alafia became a surrogate mother in 1996. Seen here in 1997 at one year old, Nadiri rides on the back of Alafia.

Vip lives in an adjacent gorilla exhibit with mates and respective daughters 15-year-old Jumoke and 2-year-old Monifa, and 30-year-old Amanda and 2-year-old Ngozi. The successful mating and pregnancy are the culmination of Alafia and Vip's interest in each other. Shortly after Vip went on exhibit in 1997, the two gorillas began spending much of their time in trees pining away at one another. In the summer of 1999, spurred by the gorillas¹ obvious affections for one another, zookeepers allowed Vip and Alafia to choose, each day, to go inside together, and spend some time away from their respective groups.

While the two no longer rendezvous inside, they can occasionally be seen climbing in the trees to look at one another. Alafia's interest in Vip seemed to fade shortly after she became pregnant in January.

Zookeepers are hoping for a healthy offspring. "We're looking forward to the impending birth and to observe the rich social interactions between Nina and the first grandchild she will have the opportunity to spend time with," notes gorilla keeper Judy Sievert. "We're also excited to see 4-year-old Nadiri's reactions to the new arrival."

There is actually a science behind all this mating and procreating. Woodland Park Zoo participates in the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) for gorillas. Through participation, the zoo has helped diversify the North American captive gene pool - 10 gorillas have been born since 1975, eight survived. The zoo also works to educate the public about gorillas, a critical first step towards gorilla conservation. All gorillas are endangered. The estimated population of wild western lowland gorillas is about 110,000. The bushmeat trade, driven by increased logging, is an imminent threat to the western lowland gorilla population, particularly in West and Central Africa. Another primary reason for their endangered status is habitat destruction caused by logging and agricultural expansion.

For more information about the zoo's gorillas and its conservation efforts, check out Woodland Park Zoo's Web site at www.zoo.org.

Vip's group is on public exhibit 10:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. daily; and Alafia's group 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily during the summer.