Zoo arrival: Baby gorilla and proud mother bond
A BABY gorilla is “doing really well” after being born at Bristol Zoo Gardens shortly before Christmas.
The tiny western lowland gorilla was pictured yesterday being carried around an enclosure by 13-year-old mother Touni.
Touni gave birth naturally to the infant, whose sex is not yet known, in the early hours of December 22 with father Jock and the family troop nearby.
It is Touni’s second baby. She gave birth to Ayana, who still lives at the zoo, in April 2017.
Lynsey Bugg of Bristol Zoo said: “We had a very early Christmas present, a brand new baby to our lovely family group of gorillas, which really just brings a lovely end to the year for us.
“It’s been a quite difficult year but a lovely treat for us at the end.
“Both mum and baby are doing really well. She’s been a mum before so we weren’t overly concerned as she knows what she’s doing.
“She’s absolutely spot on. It’s feeding loads and she’s taking perfect care of it, always holding it in the correct position, keeping it nice and warm and clean. We can’t ask for anymore.”
Gorilla babies usually remain with their mother until the age of three or four.
“From about four to six months is when you should start seeing a little bit of activity, with baby nibbling on little bits of food, learning how to walk and climb and those kind of things,” Ms Bugg added.
“It’s quite a slow process. The next few months it’ll just be carried and looked after by its mum.”
The new infant was born four months after another gorilla, Kala (10), gave birth to baby boy Hasani.
Hasani is currently being hand-reared by keepers after Kala struggled to care for him.
Both Hasani and the new baby are important in helping to safeguard the future of western lowland gorillas.
Bristol Zoological Society, which operates both Bristol Zoo Gardens and the Wild Place Project, is part of an internationally important breeding and conservation programme.