Baby gorilla’s first snow at Calgary Zoo warms hearts

A baby gorilla’s very first encounter with snow has many on the internet in awe.

Video shared by the Calgary Zoo Saturday shows Eyare, who is nearly seven months old, playing on what was her first snow day.

“The Gorilla Care Team spent the season’s first snow day building engaging enrichment in the indoor gorilla habitat,” social media posts by the zoo read. “And Eyare wasn’t the only member of the troop exploring this perfectly chilly enrichment. From new frosty sensations to sunflower seeds hidden in a snowman, a skiff of snow can captivate an entire gorilla family!”

Eyare was born on April 20, 2022. According to the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, Eyare was the 10th gorilla to be born at the facility.

The zoo notes that wild gorilla populations have decreased by 80 per cent over the past 30 years.

Eastern and western gorillas are currently listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In the wild, the Western Lowland Gorilla is found in Cameroon, Gabon, and Congo.