Milwaukee County Zoo's baby gorilla has a name, thanks to Northwestern Mutual employees

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The Milwaukee County Zoo's western lowland gorilla that was born in November has a name.

In partnership with the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, the Milwaukee County Zoo and the Zoological Society of Milwaukee picked the name Sulaiman (pronounced SOO-lay-man) after a seven-day social media campaign. Sulaiman means peace -- it's also a variation of Simon. More than 1,200 Northwestern Mutual employees cast their votes -- and 32 percent of those votes were cast for Sulaiman.

Sulaiman was born to 12-year-old mother, Shalia, and 28-year-old father, Cassius.  This is the first offspring of Shalia. The rest of the members of the Zoo’s gorilla troop are curious, but respectful of the new infant, and are showing appropriate behaviors.  Father Cassius is attentive and protective of the new addition.

Female gorillas give birth to one infant after a pregnancy of nearly nine months.  Unlike their powerful parents, newborns are tiny – weighing about 4 pounds – and able only to cling to their mother’s hair. These infants ride on their mothers’ backs from the age of four months through the first two or three years of their lives.

Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered in the wild, but are more common than their relatives, the mountain gorillas.

Western lowland gorillas live in heavy rain forests, and it’s difficult for scientists to accurately estimate how many survive in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Gabon, Angola, and possibly the Democratic Republic of Congo.