Two sublimely adorable gorillas are making their public debuts at the Bronx Zoo, the second such primates to be born on the grounds in a little over a year.
The gender of the babies, born Jan. 17 and Jan. 19 to 16-year-old Layla and 16-year-old Kumi, respectively, is not yet known. Ernie, 32, is the father of both babies; he also fathered the two gorillas born at the zoo in March 2014.
The babies and their parents live with the rest of their troop in the Bronx Zoo's Congo Gorilla Forest, a 6.5-acre footprint in the southwest corner of the zoo that opened in 1999 and is now home to 19 gorillas.
Newborn gorillas weigh about 4 to 5 pounds, but they grow to formidable sizes. The world's largest primate, the adult male gorilla weighs between 350 and 450 pounds and when standing upright, can be up to 6 feet tall. Adult females weigh between 150 to 250 pounds and are up to 4 feet tall, the zoo says.
Western lowland gorillas are designated as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Their natural range spans tropical and subtropical forests in equatorial Africa.
They are primarily vegetarian, mainly consuming fruits, plants, and some insects. They spend much of their time on the ground, but are excellent climbers.
