A cake made out of cardboard and paper mache isn’t on many birthday wish lists. But for Patty and Nayembi, Lincoln Park Zoo’s youngest western lowland gorillas, the three-tiered faux-pastry, slathered in honey and dotted with cereal, was a seriously special treat.
The half sisters—though they have different mothers, silverback Kwan is both babies’ father—celebrated their second birthdays with a private party with the cake and their animal care team Thursday, and the public is invited to join in the festivities with a second event Saturday morning at 10 a.m., according to Michael Brown-Palsgrove, the zoo’s manager of primates .
“It’s a way for us to publically celebrate their milestones,” Brown-Palsgrove said. “For us working with them on a day-to-day basis, we do build a relationship so we like to remember those special occasions.”
Instead of another cake, Patty, Nayembi and their troop of other gorillas will be presented with a piñata filled with “enrichment items,” such as cereal, mixed nuts and oatmeal, on Saturday. “[It’ll be] low calorie type things, so it won’t be candy,” Brown-Palsgrove said. Visitors will also have a chance to sign banners for the birthday girls, as well as join the zookeepers in some “Happy Birthday” singing.
>>VIDEO: Lincoln Park Zoo gorillas turn two, eat cake
With their official second birthdays Oct. 11 and Nov. 16, respectively, Patty and Nayembi are still very much in the “toddler stage,” Brown-Palsgrove says. Both are now eating solid foods—cucumbers and eggplant are Nayembi’s favorites—and showing their personalities—Patty is shy, while Nayembi is more outgoing—but they’re still nursing. Maturity won’t come for several more years. Aside from being pretty awesome birthday gifts, items like the cake and piñata come in handy for keeping the young gorillas busy.
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“It provides them something to play with because these girls are super active and they have boundless energy, so it gives them an outlet,” Brown-Palsgrove said.
And just like their human counterparts, these high-energy 2-year-olds can be something of a pain to their parents from time to time. Luckily, they have each other.
“[They] pretty much play with each other all the time which is really good for the group because if there was just one, she would be annoying the adults all the time,” Brown-Palsgrove said. “So to have the other as a playmate and an outlet is wonderful.”