SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Just a week after a giraffe gave birth, Utah’s Hogle Zoo announced a gorilla is expecting a newborn in March.

Mary, a 38-year-old western lowland gorilla, is nearing the end of her eight-and-a-half-month pregnancy, according to Utah’s Hogle Zoo. Animal care and health teams have been closely monitoring her progress.

This isn’t Mary’s first pregnancy, according to zoo officials, as she has experienced both successful pregnancies and pregnancy loss in the past. Hogle Zoo said these past experiences have helped inform what kind of care she receives as her pregnancy comes to an end.

This care includes voluntary training and ultrasounds that allow care teams to monitor the infant’s bone development and limb movement.

“Given Mary’s history, Hogle Zoo has prepared for multiple outcomes, including training sessions with the troop’s experienced mothers, Jabali and Pele, to reinforce maternal behaviors,” Hogle Zoo said in a statement. “To prepare for the birth, the animal care team has added extra hay bedding to the gorilla habitat and is watching for signs of labor.”

Mary and her daughter, Pele, both came to Utah as part of a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan. The father, 34-year-old Husani, has been a Hogle Zoo resident since 2010.

This will be Husani’s third offspring, according to the Zoo. He also fathered Georgia in 2020 to Jabali and Addo in 2024 to Pele.

Zoo officials said this new pregnancy is a significant milestone for western lowland gorilla conservation. The species is considered to be “critically endangered” due to illegal poaching and habitat loss. Both poaching and disease have reduced the population by more than 60% over the last 25 years, according to Utah’s Hogle Zoo.

The newborn gorilla would be the second birth at Utah’s Hogle Zoo in as many months.

In late January, Minka, the zoo’s 8-year-old giraffe, gave birth to a male calf. Zoo officials said the calf was 5 feet, 8 inches tall at birth and has shown a calm but curious demeanor.

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