Dallas Zoo Reveals Baby Gorilla's Name, Gender

There's a new fuzzy baby grabbing attention in North Texas -- a 2-month-old gorilla at the Dallas Zoo named Mbani.

The Zoo announced his name, pronounced "em-bani," and gender Tuesday in a Facebook post.

"We've named him Mbani for for the Mbani River in Gabon's Moukakaba-Doudon National Park. This national park has the highest density of primates in the country, with nearly 5,000 gorillas and chimps," the zoo said.

First-time mom Megan gave birth March 7, which marked the second gorilla baby in 21 years. She is a 13-year-old critically endangered western lowland gorilla.

The new baby is the half-sibling of Saambili, who was born last year, marking the first time the Dallas Zoo has had two baby gorillas simultaneously in 50 years. [[487443231,C]]

"Gorilla conservation is a huge part of Dallas Zoo's mission – we've been unwavering in our commitment to save them in the wild, and now we’re contributing more than ever to their protection in human care," Gregg Hudson, Dallas Zoo’s president and CEO said when Mbani was born. "We've gone from not having an infant gorilla for two decades, to now having two babies back-to-back, and it truly shows the dedication and perseverance of our world-class animal experts."

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