Tidings of peace: Philadelphia Zoo’s baby gorilla named Amani

The baby western lowland gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo will be called Amani

The baby western lowland gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo will be called Amani

The results are in, and the new baby gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo has a name.

Zoo officials announced Monday that the female baby will be called Amani, which means “peace” in Swahili.

The public was invited to help choose the baby western lowland gorilla’s name. The zoo partnered with a sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo that rehabilitates Grauer’s gorillas whose families have been killed by poachers.

Voters went online to donate a dollar and chose from a list of names that honored orphaned gorillas. The money benefits the sanctuary.

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The zoo’s Amani is named after an 8-year-old gorilla that was rescued in Congo in 2009. It was found dehydrated and with a bullet in the leg, a result of the poaching of the animal’s family.

The zoo says gorilla now has a good life at the sanctuary.

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