If you’re looking for a reason to move a visit to Woodland Park Zoo up on your family outings list, two just arrived, each weighing less than six pounds.
The zoo welcomed not one, but two baby western lowland gorillas this month, and the story of their births proves that mothers helping mothers and ensuring children thrive is not unique to humans.
Jamani’s baby boy was born May 18, 2026. (Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo)
Double Duty
Jamani gave birth to her own baby boy on May 18, 2026. Six days later, her troop-mate Olympia delivered a son of her own — but Olympia’s birth came by emergency C-section, performed on a Sunday by a volunteer surgical team from Swedish Medical Center who typically work on human patients. It was the first C-section in Woodland Park Zoo’s 126-year history and one of fewer than a dozen ever performed on a gorilla worldwide.
The night after Olympia’s delivery, zookeepers kept the baby in close proximity so she could see, hear, and smell her baby the entire time. The next day, while Olympia recovered from major surgery, Jamani did what apparently comes naturally to her: she picked up the baby.
Not just to hold him. She’s been nursing him. Carrying him alongside her own newborn son. Bringing both babies to the mesh barrier so keepers can monitor their health and do bottle-feeding training. She is, by any measure, mothering two infants at once — and doing it without being coached.
Memory Across the Miles?
“We weren’t surprised and knew there was a possibility that Jamani would pick up Olympia’s baby,” said Arden Robert, Animal Care Manager of Primates at Woodland Park Zoo, in the WPZ blog. “Last night, Jamani nursed Olympia’s baby several times. While Olympia is staying very close, she has not yet attempted to take either baby. The gorilla keepers will continue to closely monitor the new moms and babies 24/7 to ensure healthy nursing for both infants.”
What makes Jamani’s response even more remarkable is that she and Olympia have been here before. In 2012, when both gorillas lived together at the North Carolina Zoo, they each gave birth to a son weeks apart — and raised those boys together. More than a decade later, in a different city, they’re doing it again. The two newborns share the same dad, a gorilla named Nadaya. Scientists don’t know whether gorillas carry anything like memory or friendship across years and miles, but Jamani’s actions certainly raise the question. What is known: gorillas have a documented capacity for this kind of cooperative mothering.
Dr. Andrew Beckstom, Neonatologist and Medical Director of Swedish Medical Center NICU. Right: Dr. Sachita Shah with Butterfly Network and UW Emergency Medicine. (Photo: Nichole Hamilton/MFM Sonographer)
A Dramatic Delivery
When an ultrasound over the weekend showed complications for Olympia’s birth — low amniotic fluid and a labor that wasn’t progressing — zoo veterinarians made the call to bring in outside help. Fast.
A volunteer team from Swedish Medical Center stepped up on a Sunday: an OB/GYN chief, a residency program director, a neonatologist, a sonographer, and a NICU nurse. King County Medic One also agreed to help. Olympia was transported by zoo ambulance to the veterinary hospital, where the Swedish team performed the first C-section in Woodland Park Zoo’s 126-year history, and one of fewer than a dozen ever performed on a gorilla anywhere in the world.
The 5.4-pound boy was delivered, stabilized, and reunited with his troop the following day. For a full-term gorilla, Olympia’s little guy was big (the average birth weight is just four pounds).
The first 72 hours are the most critical for a newborn gorilla, according to zookeepers. WPZ staff are monitoring both babies around the clock. So far, both boys are healthy, nursing well, and maintaining good body temperatures. Olympia, still recovering, is staying close but hasn’t taken her baby back yet. The plan is to let Jamani continue as long as both infants are thriving, and reunite Olympia with her son once she’s ready.
Conversations with Kids
The story of these moms and their babies may be an opportunity to talk with children about birth, how animals care for one another, and how humans and animals aren’t so different.
Fair warning: the outdoor habitat may be closed to visitors in the coming days while the new moms settle in, so check the zoo’s social media or zoo.org/animals/zoobabies for updates before you head over.
The new babies bring the zoo’s gorilla troop size up to 13. Read more on the Woodland Park Zoo blog.
