The London Zoo gained a new attraction this week—a rare western lowland gorilla—although it will be a while before the public gets to see her. In fact, even zoo staff haven’t been able to get close enough to determine the baby’s gender as the mother is holding it close.
The infant was born after a sudden and rapid labor, only 17 minutes from when zookeepers noticed that the mother, Mjukuu, was in labor until the baby appeared. The birth took place in the back dens of their home, viewable only on CCTV.
Shortly after delivery, screens showed Mjukuu cradling the newborn, and then allowing two juveniles who are part of the troop to approach and examine the latest member. Kathryn Sanders, the Zoo’s primates manager, told press that “We’ll be giving mum and baby lots of time and space to get to know each other, and for the rest of the troop to get used to their new addition – they’re as excited as we are and can’t stop staring at the baby.”
For the zoo and zoologists, the event is especially important; the subspecies to which Mjukuu, father Kiburi and the youngsters belong has declined in the wild by more than 60% over the past 25 years.
