BELFAST Zoo has asked the public to name one of its youngest animals after it hosted a 'gender reveal' party yesterday.
A baby Western lowland gorilla, born on October 8, is male, the zoo said.
The sex of the animal could only be determined now because newborn gorillas cling to their mother's stomach for the first few months.
The four-month-old was pictured at the zoo yesterday with his father Gugas and mother Kamili.
During the reveal, the adult gorillas picked through a box filled with shredded blue paper to find hidden fruit and vegetables.
The baby is the second to be born to Gugas and Kamili.
In 2014, the couple welcomed female gorilla ‘Kibibi’ which means ‘little lady’ in Swahili.
The zoo is now asking the public to choose a name for the new male gorilla.
People can vote for their favourite name, from a shortlist of eight, via the zoo's Facebook page.
Western lowland gorillas are a critically endangered species with less than 100,000 living in the forests of western central Africa.
They face extinction due to the loss of their natural habitat. Adult gorillas are also killed for meat and by trophy hunters.
The gorillas are herbivores and spend most of their days sleeping and eating foods including fruit, shoots, bulbs, tree bark and leaves.
