She was rejected by her mom after being prematurely born via C-section at the Fort Worth Zoo. She was transferred to Cleveland and has fit in with her new family.

CLEVELAND — If you’re also obsessed with the Japanese Zoo baby macaque named Punch, raise your hand.

Punch’s heartbreaking-turned-heartwarming journey from rejected baby to certified bachelor (if you know, you know) has captured the hearts of the Internet.

It was reminiscent of a similar story that happened right here in North Texas a couple of years ago: Jameela, the baby gorilla born prematurely via emergency cesarean who was rejected by her birth mother. Jameela was the third gorilla born in the zoo’s 115-year history – but the first gorilla to be born via C-section. 

Jameela was transferred to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo after two months of repeated failed surrogacy efforts, and found positive progress with a surrogate mother there named Fredrika “Freddy”.

We haven’t heard about Jameela in over two years, so we wanted to check in and see how she was doing. 

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo said Jameela has become an integral part of their gorilla family, playing with her new big brother, Kayembe, and her little sister, Kunda. The zoo staff told WFAA that Jameela and Kunda are best friends! 

Jameela is hitting all of her 2-year-old gorilla milestones and has started their training program at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. 

“You come to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and you see [Jameela] playing with her siblings. It looks fun and is all play,” the zoo staff said. “It’s an important part of the gorilla family group for those youngsters learning how to socialize and becoming entwined in that group.”