Afia monkeys around on birthday
A GORILLA born by emergency caesarean has celebrated her fourth birthday, marking the end of zookeepers giving her daily milk.
Afia, which means ‘Friday born child’ in Ghanaian, was delivered by emergency caesarean section in 2016 after her mother showed signs of pre-eclampsia. It was the first time a gorilla had been born by the procedure at Bristol Zoo Gardens and one of only a handful of instances of it happening worldwide.
After her birth, the western lowland gorilla received 24-hour care.
She was fed formula milk every two to three hours and spent her days near the gorilla troop, before travelling in a car seat to one of her keeper’s homes for overnight care.
Keepers continued to give Afia milk each day.
Lynsey Bugg, curator of mammals at Bristol Zoo, said: “She doesn’t need that sort of help from us any longer. She has done really well.”