Baby Gibbon has a Name!

Thanks to your overwhelming response to our baby gibbon naming contest, the Zoo will be donating over $1100 to Fauna and Flora International. Makaio was the winning name with $274 in donations (Makoto placed second with $176 and Mingli was third with $106 in donations). Thank you to everyone who generously donated and shared the contest with their friends!

Public Debut & Naming Contest

A male white-cheeked gibbon was born on June 5. The family group will make its public debut on July 5, but the baby doesn't have a name! We need YOUR help! The Zoo is giving the public an opportunity to choose a name by making a conservation donation. Vote for your favorite name as many times as you like between now and July 31!

The three names are:

Mingli (Min-GLEE) – Chinese for “bright propriety”

Makaio (Ma-KI-o) – Laotian for “gift of God”

Makoto (Ma-KO-toe) – Laotian for “honesty”

Each vote is a $1 donation to Fauna and Flora International, an organization that protects gibbon habitats in China and Vietnam. Nashville Zoo will match all donations made for the naming contest. The name with the most donations will be announced in August.

Muffy Update

Many of you may remember long time Zoo resident, Muffy. The 47 year old white-cheeked gibbon is celebrating her first grandchild from her daughter, Singwah. Muffy is the second oldest white-cheeked gibbon in North America and has been in an off exhibit habitat since 2015 due to an arm injury. Muffy has been a successful surrogate mother to several white-cheeked gibbons throughout the years. We are excited for her bloodline to be carried on through Singwah and her grandson, who is extremely important to the Species Survival Plan (SSP) population because he has founder genetics.