Detroit Zoo seeks help naming newborn baby girl gorilla

Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The Detroit Zoo is asking for the public's help to name a baby gorilla born at the zoo earlier this month.

The zoo announced Monday that the baby born to first-time mother Bandia in early August is a girl and officials have narrowed her potential names down to a list of six.

Visitors to the zoo's website are being asked to choose their favorite from the names Usala, which means "forest" in the Kikumu language; Amateka, which means "history" in the Kinyarwanda language; Mbere, which means "first" in Kinyarwanda; Lobéké, which is the name of a national park in Cameroon; and Motema, which means "heart" in the Lingala language.

The gorilla is the first to be born at the Detroit Zoo in its 96-year history.

"This has been an incredibly fun and exciting time for our entire animal care team," Mike Murray, vice president of life sciences at the Detroit Zoological Society, said in a news release. "Bandia is doing an amazing job as a first-time mom; the love, care and dedication she has for her baby is just remarkable to see. We're continuing to closely monitor her and the baby, and so far, everything has gone according to plan. We're really looking forward to having this baby grow up and thrive here at the zoo."