Toronto Zoo's Charles the Gorilla picks "Nassir" as the name of his new son. (MICHAEL PEAKE/SUN MEDIA)
After weeks of anticipation, the Toronto Zoo's baby gorilla finally has a name and it's Nassir.
Dozens of people, mostly parents with their kids, gathered excitedly inside the zoo's African Rainforest Pavilion Wednesday morning to watch as Charles, the baby gorilla's father, picked his newest son's name from the five remaining names in the Name the Baby Contest.
Peter Evans, the zoo's interim CEO, was pleased with the outcome and explained the baby gorilla's name is fitting.
"It means protector and Charles is a protector," he said, adding the 37-year-old silverback has now fathered 17 offspring.
The proud father was a little coy when he was first let into his enclosure and saw the crowd waiting for him to have the final say in choosing his two-and-a-half-month-old son's name, a contest that saw 5,000 names submitted from zoo patrons.
About 11,000 people voted online to narrowed the choice down to five names.
Those names - Nassir, Neo, Nico, Nigel and Nsambu - were then written on cards and placed within five shrubs surrounded by hanfuls of fruit.
Charles walked casually around the enclosure for several minutes before he finally settled himself in front of the shrub with the name Nassir.
The crowd erupted in applause as Charles grabbed a piece of fruit and chowed down.
"I think it's adorable," Tina Lem said watching the event unfold with her son Zachary Bailey, who will be four on Sunday.
"And the name is beautiful," she said.
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