Baby Nayembi Still Recovers, May be Reunited With Troop Soon (VIDEO)

"How is Nayembi doing?" is a question staff members at the Lincoln Park Zoo say they hear often.

The simple answer? Happily, she’s doing well, Zoo President Kevin Bell said this week. She continues to meet new milestones, climbing, crawling and trying her first solid foods.

She’s still receiving around-the-clock care from animal experts. To help keep Nayembi in her wild context, the zoo's caregivers do their best gorilla imitations, mimicking the grunts, play and eating patterns of the family group led by silverback Kwan.

At 3 months old, the western lowland gorilla suffered a "serious facial injury" in February. The young girl has been recovering from the laceration ever since. 

"Even as Nayembi receives constant nurturing and care, you’ll notice we haven’t offered a stream of photos with the baby gorilla interacting with humans," Bell said, in a statement this week. "There’s a good reason for that. Research by one of our leading scientists, Fisher Center Director Steve Ross, has shown that people who see images of humans and apes sharing space are less likely to consider these amazing animals to be endangered."

The fact is, western lowland gorillas are critically endangered. As zoos across the country work together to conserve them, their wild populations are declining due to habitat loss and hunting.

"As proud as we are of the care on display, we can’t do anything to undermine the notion that gorillas need protecting," Bell said.

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What’s next for Nayembi?

"While caregivers have done a great job imitating gorillas, the baby has recently been able to get some much-needed exposure to actual gorillas," Bell said. "Nayembi’s mom, Rollie, and our other mom-and-baby pair, Bana and Patty, have shifted their living arrangements to have constant access behind the scenes."

They’re physically separated from Nayembi, but they can go see her whenever they want. And Bell says they often do; giving the little one the important opportunity to see and smell her family.

Zoo staff members' ultimate goal is to fully reintroduce Nayembi back to her family group. Animal care experts are making all the adjustments to ensure she can be fully cared for, monitored and fed while on exhibit.

"Hopefully we’ll be there soon," Bell said. "When we are, I’ll be sure to let you know."

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