Baby gorilla shunned by mom and raised by human keepers in hairy vests arrives at new Ohio zoo

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A baby gorilla raised by human keepers wearing hairy vests has moved to a new Ohio zoo as the search for a surrogate mother for her continues.

The female gorilla named Kamina was born in August at the zoo in Oklahoma City but was shunned by her mother, so she was sent to Cincinnati in September.

Human surrogates there taught her to act like a gorilla by using low grunting sounds to soothe her and coughing sounds to discourage behaviours. They then placed her with two female gorillas.

When they didn’t bond with her, keepers decided Kamina’s best option was moving to Columbus. The Cincinnati Zoo’s curator of primates says such introductions are delicate and don’t always work out.

Kamina arrived at the Columbus Zoo last week.