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Bronx Zoo welcomes 2 newborn gorillas – Metro US

Bronx Zoo welcomes 2 newborn gorillas

The Bronx Zoo family welcomed two new additions this spring with the birth of two baby gorillas.

Rounding the number of western lowland gorillas up to 20, the two tots are the first born at the zoo since 2006.

Born in the last few weeks, neither newborn has a name, nor do the keepers at the Wildlife Conservation Society — which operates the zoo — know their genders just yet.

The gorilla moms, Julia and Tuti, are keeping their infants on them — newborn gorillas are typically held by their mothers for the first four months of their lives.

Julia, 33, gave birth to her baby on March 10, and 19-year-old Tuti on April 17. Both have reared little ones before. However, the dad — 31-year-old Ernie — is a first-time father.

Visitors might be able to sneak a peak at the gorilla babies at the Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest, which has been tending to and breeding the endangered apes across the a 6.5-acre space since 1999.

The two baby gorillas are the 14th and 15th born within the exhibit, but the longtime Bronx institution has seen 50 gorillas born since 1972.

The Bronx Zoo is open Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Follow Chester Jesus Soria on Twitter@chestersoria