Gorilla's appetite helps name son

Ngozi and Charles have made the decision to name their son Nassir. What’s interesting about this story is the parents didn’t even utter a word to decide on the name.

The reason for this: Ngozi and Charles are gorillas. Officials at the Toronto Zoo announced the naming after Charles, a western lowland gorilla, was presented with five identical pails of food all labeled with possible names for his son as reported on The Toronto Star. Charles shuffled his way through each pails before settling on the smorgasbord of mixed fruit from the pail marked 'Nassir' and subsequently decided on the name. Visitors to the zoo were able to submit possible names for the baby gorilla under the condition the name had to begin with the letter ‘n’ as it is a customary to choose a name that starts with the same letter as the mothers name. Zoo officials then eliminated all but five of the names and left the rest up to Charles Nassir, which means protector in Arabic, was born in September and the CBC reports he has been a top attraction at the zoo ever since. In an interview with City TV, William Rapley, the Toronto Zoo’s Executive Director of Conservation, Education and Research said "we're just thrilled with Nassir and the success of our captive breeding program for this species, especially in this, the Year of the Gorilla." There are currently four adults and four young gorillas currently residing at the Toronto Zoo.