Baby Nayembi Fully Reunites With Gorilla Troop after More Than 6 Months

The little ones at the Lincoln Park Zoo have largely been behind the scenes in recent months, but now, everyone's favorite baby gorilla is back in the limelight.

Western Lowland Gorilla, Nayembi, has been recovering since she was injured in February at the young age of 3 months.

Since April, Nayembi’s mom, Rollie, and mother-and-infant pair Bana and Patty have spent much of their time off exhibit, the first step in visually reacclimating Nayembi to her troopmates. 

In July the four gorillas were physically reunited out of public view. And just last week, they were all reintroduced to silverback Kwan in the main family exhibit at Regenstein Center for African Apes.

"This is a happy step and a true testament to the commitment of the zoo’s animal care experts," Zoo officials say. "But it’s still a work in progress."

Keepers will be monitoring the group around the clock for the next week to keep a close eye on the transition. If it’s in Nayembi’s best interest, the building may even close periodically to allow her and her family some alone time.

Even now, after the promising start, we’ve installed barriers around the exhibit to give the apes some extra privacy. 

Female troop members Bahati and Susie will remain separate for the time being, either given the choice to be in the adjacent “howdy” area or outside in their yard. 

While the ultimate plan is to integrate the full group, the reintroduction process will continue to follow whatever pace is needed to ensure everyone’s well-being.

"With due caution in place, this is a very exciting development," Zoo officials say. "Even when Nayembi was separated from the group during her recovery, Kwan was still able to see, smell and hear the baby gorilla every day. He’s shown a sustained interest in the baby, much as he’s shown appropriate parenting behaviors with past offspring." 

Now they’re together, and Nayembi is being raised in the best circumstances—under the care of her natural family.