Good News: New Orleans zoo celebrates birth of critically endangered baby gorilla

The Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, US, is celebrating the birth of a tiny critically endangered gorilla. According to reports, the western lowland gorilla was born on September 4 and its the first gorilla birth at Audubon Zoo in 25 years. In an email to AP, Zoo’s spokeswoman, Katie Smith informed that the baby gorilla was born to 13-year-old Tumani and father Okpara. 

While informing that keepers saw the baby during their morning check, Smith said, “Tumani is demonstrating excellent mothering behaviours and the entire troop is doing exceptionally well”. The zoo officials don’t know the sex of the baby gorilla yet, however, they informed that the infant weighed around 1.8kg at birth. 

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As in the above video, one can see, Tumani holding the baby in her arms without using her hands, Smith said that all gorilla mothers vary on how they carry their infants. She said that some gorillas even carry their baby ‘football style’. In the email, the spokeswoman wrote that in the beginning, Tumani was keeping it close to her mouth to clean, however, she is now carrying the baby differently. “She is supporting it more its backside and keeping it low so that it can nurse,” Smith added. 

The zoo officials informed that once they knew that Tumani was pregnant, she was even trained to carry a baby using a ‘doll’ made from firehose canvas. Further, they said that the baby gorilla was born about two weeks after what the zoo had put as the last likely due date. 

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Fourth gorilla birth this year  

According to reports, the western lowland gorillas were declared ‘critically endangered’ back in 2007 because of habitat loss as well as deaths caused by the Ebola virus and hunters who killed them illegally for their meat. The recent birth, however, is at least the fourth west lowland gorilla birth at a US zoo this year. 

Meanwhile, as Tumani’s baby is Audubon’s first birth in nearly 25-years, the zoo official informed that the zoo’s firstborn gorilla is Praline, who is 24-years-old and still at the zoo, where the troop also includes a third female, Alafia. Furthermore, the officials said that the entire primate area will be closed while Tumani and the entire troop bonds with the baby. 

(With AP inputs) 

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