10/15/2025
Big News for Asha’s Baby — Say Hello to Sully!
Over the past few weeks, CMZoo members, social media fans and guests helped name Asha’s baby gorilla while fundraising for a new home for great apes at CMZoo. The votes are in – and this historic CMZoo baby has a name!
Meet Sully!
Primate World keepers chose three name options up for public vote. A $5 minimum donation was required to participate in the vote, with every donation supporting a brand-new home for gorillas, orangutans and more! In addition to helping make history by naming this little one, every dollar raised will fund historic improvements to great ape habitats at CMZoo.
“The name Sully is so fitting for this baby – now and as he grows up,” says Ashton Asbury, Primate World lead animal keeper. “When I think of the character ‘Sully’ I think of a big, fluffy guy who might appear to be intimidating, but in reality he is a guy with a heart of gold. Gorillas, especially silverbacks, like Sully will be one day, are often misunderstood. They may seem intimidating, but they’re gentle giants who protect their families. I am looking forward to seeing this little guy grow up to be the leader of his own family, like his dad, Goma. I am excited to see him grow into this name and show people that there is more to him than meets the eye.”
Donation and vote amounts for each name:
Sully: $7,300
Abu: $4,346
Ryder: $2,805
In total, 462 generous people donated to vote for the baby’s name, raising $39,451 – including the $25,000 match and contribution from a generous individual donor. CMZoo is one of very few nonprofit zoos in the country that does not receive tax support. Animal care, conservation and Zoo operations and improvements depend on admissions, programs and generous donations.
“We weren't sure anyone could be as excited as we were about the birth of our baby gorilla, but boy were we wrong,” Kelley Parker, senior director of development and marketing at CMZoo, says. “Our community blew us away with their support. Not only were we able to give little Sully a perfect name, but we were also able to raise significant funds for a new home for gorillas and orangutans. Thank you so much to all of the passionate people that participated in our naming vote - we're glad you love Sully as much as we do!”
Asha, a 33-year-old critically endangered Western lowland gorilla, gave birth to Sully on Mon., July 21, 2025. It had been nearly 13 years since a gorilla was born at CMZoo before Sully’s arrival.
Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered in the wild, and their numbers continue to decline. Gorilla fans can help preserve wild gorilla habitats by recycling small electronic devices and cell phones at CMZoo.
In addition to disease and poaching, gorillas face habitat loss due to logging for agricultural use, human settlements and mining. Many of the West African lowland forests and swamps that these animals call home are also natural deposits of coltan, a mineral used in cell phones and other electronics. Due to the ever-increasing demand for cell phones across the world, the destruction of these gorillas’ habitats for mining purposes has unfortunately increased.
Coltan is recyclable, and by donating old cell phones, we can help supply valuable coltan for future phone production. Guests can bring electronics to CMZoo admissions or Primate World, where there’s a recycling collection bin near the gorillas’ indoor dens. CMZoo will send them to Eco-Cell, an organization that recycles the phones, as well as tablets, smart watches, Bluetooth devices, GPS devices, e-readers, digital cameras, handheld gaming systems and their accessories.
