Help name the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s new baby gorilla!

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is celebrating the arrival of a rare new baby gorilla and inviting the public to help name him, all while supporting a major habitat expansion for primates.

CMZoo said on July 21, Asha, a 32-year-old critically endangered Western lowland gorilla at the zoo, gave birth to a baby boy – the first gorilla born at the zoo in nearly 13 years.

Now, the zoo is asking the community to help choose his name.

To cast a vote, guests must make a minimum $5 donation. That donation goes directly toward funding Primate World, the Zoo’s ambitious project to build a brand-new home for gorillas, orangutans, and the zoo's other apes.

"We’re so excited for this little guy to finally have a name," Primate World animal keeper Ashton Asbury said. "It's so great that our guests have fallen head over heels for him and now get to be part of his story while also supporting a great cause."

The Primate World team has selected three names guests can choose between:

• Ryder: A nod to the baby's skill at riding on his mom's back, which CMZoo said he's done from a younger-than-normal age
• Sully: In honor of the bright-and-furry Pixar character who has a heart of gold
• Abu: Because he's skilled and loyal, just like a furry friend from the fictional city of Agrabah

CMZoo says the name that receives the most combined donations will win. The zoo also said a generous donor agreed to match all donations up to $25,000, so every dollar will make twice the impact.

"We’re so excited for our community to get involved in naming this adorable baby and in helping provide a new home for his whole family," Kelley Parker, senior director of development and marketing at CMZoo, said. "Every dollar donated will not only be matched dollar-for-dollar, it will also go directly toward our fundraising efforts for a spectacular new primate habitat. We love that our entire community — here in Colorado Springs and around the world — can be part of creating something incredible."

You can donate and vote at cmzoo.org/babyname. The winning name will be announced at that same site as well as on the zoo's social media channels on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

Beyond naming the baby, CMZoo is encouraging guests to help protect gorillas in the wild by recycling old electronics. Many Western lowland gorillas’ habitats are being destroyed for mining operations — especially for coltan, a mineral used in phones and other devices.

"Due to the ever-increasing demand for cell phones across the world, the destruction of these gorillas’ habitats for mining purposes has unfortunately increased," CMZoo said.

The zoo said guests can bring their old electronics to CMZoo admissions or Primate World, where there's a recycling collection bin near the gorillas' indoor dens.

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