As we prepared you for in recent blog entries, Kindi is now off exhibit while she is in the process of being introduced to her gorilla surrogate in the quiet and comfort of their bedroom/off exhibit spaces.
For this blog, we thought we would revisit Kindi’s milestones on her journey to family introduction.
Kindi has taken many steps on the path to family introduction since we welcomed her on March 14, 2016 via an emergency cesarean section. Gorilla Forest keepers have diligently hand-raised Kindi since the passing of her mother Mia Moja, acting as her human surrogates until she achieved the milestones necessary for introduction to a possible gorilla surrogate.
What were some of those milestones? See the slideshow below!
By August 1, 2016, Kindi was 4.5 months old and 9.5 pounds. She had met all the milestones necessary to enable the introductory process to begin. With guidance and feedback from top gorilla surrogacy experts, we began the introduction process.
We are focused on keeping the gorillas comfortable during this introduction process. We thank you for your patience and interest as we carefully manage an environment for this dynamic process.