AKRON, Ohio — The Akron Zoo welcomed the newest addition to its family Dec. 9 — a baby white-cheeked gibbon.

Gibbons are still relatively new to the zoo. They arrived last winter and the zoo had hopes that the pair would have a baby, but didn’t expect it to happen so soon. 

"They kind of got pregnant almost right away, their pregnancy is about seven months," said Erin Whatley, principal keeper of the white-cheeked gibbons. "So, within the first couple of months of us having them on grounds, they got busy quickly.” 

It was exciting news for the zoo, as white-cheeked gibbons are critically endangered.  

"They are facing a lot of threats in the wild such as deforestation, habitat loss and even poaching," Whatley said. "There are about 455 left in the wild, so not a lot left.” 

Even though this baby is more than a month old, it doesn't have a name yet, so the zoo is asking for help.

The zoo is hosting a public naming contest with five names to choose from: 

• Lolani (Low-lah-niy): Means "royal hawk" in Lao (the official language in Laos)
• Keo (kee-oh): Means "precious gem, glass" in Lao
• Kanoa (Kah-NOH-ah): Means "free one" in Lao
• Rou (r-oo): Means "gentle, mild" in Chinese
• Jinzi (jin-zee): Means "gold" in Chinese 

The five name options are gender-neutral because the baby spends most of its time clinging to its mother, so the zoo does not know the sex of the baby at this time. 

To cast a vote for the name of the gibbon baby, click here.