While most parents carefully consider possible names in the weeks before their babies are born, Charles let his nose be his guide.
The Western Lowland gorilla’s son was born September 2nd at the Toronto Zoo and on Wednesday he was finally given a name: Nassir.
Over 11,000 people cast their votes as to what the baby should be called. The zoo stipulated the name had to start with the letter “N”, which is the first letter of his mother’s name -- Ngozi.
Zoo staff and kids whittled the nearly 5,000 different names down to a list of 10. Then the public voted to shorten the list to five: Nassir, Neo, Nico, Nigel and Nsambu.
The five selections were placed at separate stations, each containing a treat, for Charles to consider.
Nassir’s birth was a significant one for the zoo and for the species itself, which is highly endangered. Western Lowland gorillas are found in the rainforests of Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Eight gorillas -- four adults and four youngsters -- currently live at the Toronto Zoo.
"We're just thrilled with Nassir and the success of our captive breeding program for this species, especially in this, the Year of the Gorilla," Toronto Zoo Executive Director of Conservation, Education, and Research, Dr. William Rapley, said, " and we invite everyone to come out and see him in the African Rainforest Pavilion."