After emergency C-section and maternal rejection in Texas, young gorilla Jameela is settling in Cleveland

A high-risk birth and an uncommon early challenge

Jameela, a western lowland gorilla, was born on January 5, 2024, at the Fort Worth Zoo after complications threatened the health of her mother, Sekani, leading to an emergency cesarean section. Zoo officials described it as the first C-section in Fort Worth Zoo history. In the weeks that followed, caregivers attempted to establish maternal care within the troop, but Jameela’s mother and other adult females did not demonstrate behaviors consistent with a stable mother-infant bond.

By late March 2024, the decision was made to transfer the infant to Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, where staff had recent experience integrating infants who did not receive adequate early maternal care. Jameela arrived in Cleveland on March 27, 2024, at 11 weeks old.

Why Cleveland: a track record with gorilla fostering

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s gorilla program has previously managed a similar situation. In 2021, a newborn male named Kayembe required immediate intervention after his birth mother did not provide appropriate maternal care. The troop’s eldest female, Fredrika—known as “Freddy,” born June 5, 1974—quickly assumed the surrogate role, and she has continued to provide caretaking in the troop.

For Jameela, the goal of the move was consistent: to maximize the likelihood that the infant would be raised by gorillas rather than by humans. The transfer was coordinated through accredited-zoo collaboration and guided by the Gorilla Species Survival Plan, a cooperative population-management program used across participating institutions.

Integration into a social troop

Cleveland’s gorilla group includes the silverback Mokolo (born July 10, 1987) and multiple adult females, including Nneka (born Sept. 23, 1998), Kebi Moyo (born Jan. 13, 1991) and Tusa (born Dec. 2, 1989), in addition to Fredrika. Zoo materials describe the troop as an established social unit in which older animals can play stabilizing roles during introductions and day-to-day social learning.

As of the zoo’s published updates, Jameela has been part of the Cleveland program since spring 2024, with the stated intent that she bond within the troop and develop through species-typical social rearing.

Conservation context and what comes next

Jameela’s story unfolds as zoos increasingly emphasize coordinated management of threatened species, including western lowland gorillas. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has also announced a major multi-year primate expansion, the Primate Forest project, designed to modernize animal spaces and give visitors more visibility into animal care practices and husbandry training. The first phase—renovation and expansion of the former RainForest complex—has been projected to open in 2026, with additional gorilla-habitat development planned as a future phase.

• Born: Jan. 5, 2024 (Fort Worth Zoo), via emergency C-section

• Arrived in Cleveland: March 27, 2024 (11 weeks old)

• Primary objective of transfer: improve chances of gorilla-led rearing through fostering in a stable troop

Key milestone dates: January 5, 2024 (birth) and March 27, 2024 (arrival in Cleveland).