Jamani is due May 24 (Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo)
Two western lowland gorillas at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo are now under 24-hour “birth watch” as their due dates approach just five days apart later this month. Olympia is expected to give birth around May 19, followed by Jamani on May 24, marking what zoo staff hope will be a joyful milestone for the critically endangered species. Overnight volunteers are remotely monitoring the gorillas around the clock through habitat bedroom cameras.
According to the zoo, cams installed in the mom’s bedrooms are collecting data such as behavioral changes and sleeping patterns and looking for any telltale signs that might indicate the onset of labor. A gorilla keeper is on call to respond in case either gorilla goes into labor in the middle of the night.
The pregnancies are especially meaningful because Olympia and Jamani have raised babies together before. The two gorillas, who arrived in Seattle from the North Carolina Zoo in 2022, each gave birth to sons just weeks apart in 2012. Zoo veterinarians and primate care teams have spent months preparing detailed prenatal plans that include nutrition support, regular ultrasounds, and voluntary health exams built around the gorillas’ trust with their caregivers. Staff say both mothers-to-be have remained calm and cooperative during imaging sessions—particularly when rewarded with favorite treats like grapes, yogurt, and applesauce.
Olympia is due May 19 (Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo
The babies will also be the first offspring for Nadaya, the family group’s silverback male, who joined Woodland Park Zoo from the Saint Louis Zoo in 2022. Zoo officials say the new arrivals will play an important role in conservation efforts for western lowland gorillas, a species facing severe population declines in the wild due to habitat loss, poaching, and disease.
In 2024, a gorilla named Akenji, a first-time mom, gave birth to a male baby but was unable to care for it. Baby Abeo (ah-BAY-oh) was transferred from WPZ to Kentucky’s Louisville Zoo to be fostered by another caring mother gorilla.
